My stepdaughter kept her appointment yesterday, and her mother reports that, all in all, it was a positive experience. I'm grateful that a step has been taken in the right direction, BUT.............I'm concerned now that I have more information. Please understand, this situation is developing about 600 or miles away from my husband and me, and the information coming from the other end is often sketchy and inconsistent.

Instead of a psychiatrist or a psychologist, my stepdaughter ended up seeing a therapist (who was also referred to in the conversation as a social worker). The report is that she will see this therapist once a week for a few more weeks and will then see an M.D. in about a month. The therapist is working in a free clinic, run by the state, in a small, remote town where her mother lives - and knows everybody. While I certainly do NOT want to take anything away from this type of facility and/or the good work that I'm sure many of them do, this smells of the mother's manipulation. She is well known, despite her own condition, for making happen whatever she wants to happen. Often, this results in a much bigger mess than the original problem.

From what I could understand, it seems that the primary focus is to get her back on the meds she used to take for ADHD. This is apparently after the mom's briefing of the therapist before the daughter's appointment. As you can see from the previous posts, it's just not likely that ADHD is what we're dealing with here. And one psychiatrist (about a year ago, in another state) has already determined that this is bipolar with "satellite issues." Lithium and something else (don't remember what it was) was prescribed then, but my stepdaughter refused to even fill the prescription, as I understand, and never took the first dose, declaring that she was NOT bipolar and that the doctor was crazy.

While it's been several years since my stepdaughter was on her meds for ADHD, the behavior I've described was well underway even then. It's more than obvious to me that those meds did nothing to help with this. (and granted, I'm new to this and am certainly no professional) We all know that, whether medical and/or psychiatric, we do, from time to time, get subjected to doctors who aren't paying attention and who miss the mark badly.

My questions for the masses today are these: If this type of care is the best we can make happen right now, are ADHD meds (previously on several different stimulants) going to help the symptoms of bipolar disorder? Please overlook my ignorance in all of this, but it seems to me that prescribing stimulants in error for out of control, and sometimes dangerous, mania is the equivalent of pouring fuel on an already raging fire. Am I wrong about this? Should I feel more comfortable than I'm feeling right now about this particular patient seeing a therapist in a free clinic instead of a psychiatrist? (please, if you're a therapist, don't be offended by my questions)

Again, while I feel like any step in the right direction is a good thing here, I'm just more than a little let down to learn the details of yesterday's appointment. I almost feel like this is the equivalent of seeing an eye doctor for a brain tumor. Maybe I'm over-reacting because of what we've lived through on the receiving end of some of this raging behavior?

As always, any input will be very welcomed.