[cool09]

He said it's "too much". I told him I have a consultation with doctors at Johns Hopkins in a month. Maybe that's why he said it. He said he will see me after the consultation. I don't what to make of today's appointment. I am agitated and scared. Maybe my illness is magnifying my feelings. I need some med adjustments and he told me to "call" if I'm having any problems. He is a very good nurse practitioner and I don't want to leave him.

I am confused, the title says psychiatrist but in the post you say he is a good nurse practitioner. Which is he? Either way, both of those professions will rarely see someone once a week. Therapists, sure. But psychiatrists mainly diagnose and dispense medication, they are generally not used for talk therapy and may see you once a month or less depending on how you're doing.

[Deejay14]

Cool,
You need some time in between appointments to see how meds are working. In my experience I can't think of a single time I saw my psychiatrist weekly and for months I practically lived at the hospital. They usually just do meds, not therapy as a rule. Maybe you need a therapist, IOP. Take the NP up on the invitation to call if you need to.

[cool09]

He's a nurse practitioner. I used to see psychiatrists once a week and the nurse practitioner once a week. All of a sudden he doesn't want to see me. My depression lifted last month in the hospital but I've also been diagnosed with Asberger's and I have other symptoms which make me dysfunctional. I just left my therapist and looking for a new one.

Originally Posted by cool09

He's a nurse practitioner. I used to see psychiatrists once a week and the nurse practitioner once a week. All of a sudden he doesn't want to see me. My depression lifted last month in the hospital but I've also been diagnosed with Asberger's and I have other symptoms which make me dysfunctional. I just left my therapist and looking for a new one.

Seeing a nurse practitioner once a week is excessive, since they are not trained in therapy. If you have seen psychiatrists and nurse practitioners once a week in the past, it is very unusual and they were quite generous with their time. Unfortunately you'll have to become used to how things normally are with these professions: seeing them a lot less often than once a week.

Have you considered finding a therapist for yourself that you could see weekly?

[graystreet]

I see a psychiatric nurse practitioner as well. He is correct, it is too much. He is only there to adjust your medications, and when he does so, a week is not sufficient enough time to see what effects they have had, if any. A month or more, however, is. After major adjustments, I see mine once a month, and then we go to three months, and then six months.

The person you would see once a week would be a therapist. Do you have one of those?

[cool09]

Have you considered finding a therapist for yourself that you could see weekly?

Thank you for the replies. That helps me. He is going to get me a therapist soon. My last therapist said that I was making excuses for not getting better which is not true. She did some other things and lectured me which caused me to quit.

[Beatnik62]

Originally Posted by cool09

He said it's "too much". I told him I have a consultation with doctors at Johns Hopkins in a month. Maybe that's why he said it. He said he will see me after the consultation. I don't what to make of today's appointment. I am agitated and scared. Maybe my illness is magnifying my feelings. I need some med adjustments and he told me to "call" if I'm having any problems. He is a very good nurse practitioner and I don't want to leave him.

I have had very good psychiatrists since I began treatment but have never spent more than 20 minutes with one regardless of experiences. That covers 23 years! The only medical professional who has heard all of my issues is a research worker from the National Institutes of Mental Health when I participated in a project. Our phone call lasted one and a half hours! My psych only knows how well meds are working. I think it comes down to time and money. They often have a lot of patients and insurance only pays for a small amount of face time. The best psychotherapy (in my experience) comes from talking to people who care enough to listen to you if you have someone like that. What others said about giving meds time to work is very correct. When agitated or anxious, I lie down and get involved in a computer game, internet videos, music, or TV.

[MickeyCheeky]

I hope you'll be able to see a new therapist soon

I have never realised that there are psychiatrists out there who would see a patient weekly. This seems more to be in the realm of psychology.

[cool09]

I don't think therapy is going to help me. I have too much wrong with me. Severe depression was just the tip of the iceberg. I've been sick 40 years.

Originally Posted by cool09

I don't think therapy is going to help me. I have too much wrong with me. Severe depression was just the tip of the iceberg. I've been sick 40 years.

Please excuse my ignorance, but if therapy won't help you, what will seeing your nurse practitioner weekly do for you?

Therapy can be very helpful, if you put the work in. It is not a magical cure but rather a platform to improvement in all areas of life, but it is not easy work!

[cool09]

I have a dissociative disorder. Doing things and staying active has never helped. Going thru college, working and trying to connect with people has never helped this problem. I constantly feel unreal and detached from myself. No professional has ever picked up on this problem except for a few diagnoses in the 90's of schizophrenia, schizoaffective and schizoid which I've been told are incorrect. I've never had a break with reality but I've always had the detachment. I know that medication can't help this. I've seen psychiatrists or nurse the last 35 years mainly for depression, anxiety, agitation or bipolar disorder. Last year Johns Hopkins added the diagnosis of Asberger's. I can't work on the Asberger's in therapy because of the detachment. There's just too much that is wrong. If it was just depression or anxiety yeah I could make a good attempt to conquer it. My last therapist didn't want to listen to all of these problems. She dismissed them as making excuses for getting better. I wasn't making any excuses.

[cool09]

I'll just add that detachment hit me hard at age 13. I felt nothing around my friends and family anymore and couldn't feel myself. It was very scary. Prior to 13 there was nothing wrong. The first psychiatrist I saw was at age 22 for depression.