My good experiences were only with therapists that encouraged me and gave me some hope. I found psychiatrists to be very negative minded and their primary focus seemed to be medications. If you are not getting better, then up the dosage and add in a new med. When the medications did not work, their response was that "you must not be taking your medications like you say you are". In other words, I was accused of lying, a lot!

The experiences at county or state run mental health agencies were beyond hideous and incredibly demeaning, plus harmful. I remember one particularly bad therapist telling me that although I was feeling a lift from depression at that time, not to worry that the depression would be back soon. WTF??? Really!