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Ok, here's the question. Who can dx a person with Bipolar and/or Borerline ect... ? Does it have to be a psychiatrist, psychologist, or can your therapist be the one? My psychiatrist dx me bipolar II after only seeing me for 5 minutes (no joke). However my T says Bipolar and Borderline, with Borderline being my main issue. Do I have to go back to my psychiatrist to get the dx changed or can my T do it? My psychiatrist just doesn't have time for me..

Don't quote me on this, because I am DEFINITELY not a professional...

But I don't think a therapist can provide an official diagnosis, because they are technically not doctors. They do not have their doctorate degrees. I think that both psychologists and psychiatrists can provide diagnoses. I had a psychologist give me a full evaluation and then diagnose me after. I have also had psychiatrists diagnose me after a shorter period of time, like you experienced.

Just because they can't give "official" diagnoses to you though, doesn't mean you shouldn't take notice of their opinion. I believe that since therapists generally spend more time with you than a psychiatrist, they tend to know you better. If your therapist and pdoc are in contact with each other, that would be the best case scenario. Then your T could share his/her opinion with the pdoc, and vice versa.

Medical degrees, not doctorates - they're quite different! Psychologists are usually PhDs, psychiatrists are MDs. (Doctor of Philosophy vs Doctor of Medicine)

I've had several psychologists give a "tentative" diagnosis and in the same breath, told me that I had to see a psychiatrist to get an "official" diagnosis and proper treatment. But I've heard that it might vary by where you are. And of course, dx's like these are not hard and fast - different mental health professionals will come up with different dx's. There are a lot of similarities between bipolar and borderline, so that's a common back-and-forth dx for some people.

In actuality, I see an RPA-C who works with a psychiatrist, but it was a pretty clear-cut case for evaluation after having 4 other independent opinions in under a year all agree that I'm bipolar.