What Would You Do? Proper Care or Snake Oil

It's been a long time since I've posted. This will be long, so I'll try to break it up for easy reading. I can't really do a TL;DR. Sorry.

Preface

I'm poor. I have no insurance. I'm in need of help. I've been married for 20 years; 4 kids. I was under the care of a psychiatrist and therapist before getting married. I was taking medication that seems to indicate that I was diagnosed as bipolar.

• lithium
• anti-psychotics
• also Paxil and others that I can't remember

I quit all of the medication and therapy shortly before my 1st child was born, because, "I want our daughter to have her 'real' dad.

20 years later and my wife is begging me to seek help.

I've done a lot of research and I believe that I have all the symptoms that point to ADHD. And that ADHD either causes, or is co-morbid with, Anxiety of the general variety.

Well, I finally found a councilor that will see me for free at a local non-profit, sliding-scale counseling center.

Awesome, right? Nope. I want to break up with him after today's session.

Main Body

I am a Christian. My counselor is a Christian. And this is part of the problem.

Most Evangelical Christians would probably consider me to be unorthodox - to downright heretical - in my beliefs. I have a different understanding of the biblical narrative than the majority of mainstream American Christians. And because my current councilor's technique is fundamentally based in his understanding of scripture, I have to fight myself to not turn sessions into a Bible study.

This is not conducive to a beneficial therapeutic relationship. I won't go further into that. But here is the rub:

I don't think he has a grasp on ADHD.

I don't know if I have it. But I want to find out. If it is true that I have a mood disorder, then I will deal with that. But I'm pretty sure it is ADHD. I just want to know the truth. Maybe I suffer from neither... or any psychiatric disorder, for that matter.

I spent a great deal of time this week writing out my responses in expanded form to a PsychCentral survey on ADHD (as well as printing out my Sanity Score) in order to take to the session. He didn't really look at either. Well, he glanced at it, and then proceeded to quote scripture out of context. He then went on to tell me that next week he wants to administer a "Temperament Personality Profile."

I looked it up. It looks like snake oil to me. But, I digress...

At the end of the session I told him that I was going to look into a local clinic that provides psychiatric care on a sliding scale. He looked at me and said, "Why?" I told him that I am struggling and my wife believes that I could benefit from medication. He said, "Well, I don't think you need medication."

I didn't challenge him. I should have said, "Based on what? That we've spent several weeks of not discussing any type of recognized psychological assessment? That you have done much of the speaking during sessions, telling me that you totally understand me, and quoting verses OUT OF CONTEXT?"

I know that I am rambling. I'm sorry; I just want to get this off my chest. I knew that I should not have gone to a Christian counselor. Now I have to remember what the purpose of this post was...

Basically, it looks like this Temperament Personality Profile is another name for the Arno Profile System, or the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation, and is used pretty much exclusively by the National Christian Counselor's Association in lieu of other psychological profile systems.

Anyway. I hope that I am not being unreasonable. After years of knowing that I need help I finally did something about it. Now that I am seeing someone about my issues, am I just being obstinate and rebellious?

Oh, along with his what-seems-to-be a color by numbers system of "counseling", he also loves CBT. So far I hate CBT.

I talked to my wife and I have decided to go to that clinic I mentioned to the counselor. They have a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

I never knew there was such a thing as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, so I looked it up. It appears that they can do exactly what a psychiatrist can do. Am I right?

Question

What would you do if you were me?

I think you are on the right track! Listen to your gut on this one. Maybe Christian counseling works for some. But keep in mind that they tend to think that you don’t need Meds no matter what and that you can just pray you illness away. Maybe it works for some? I don’t know but I’ve never heard a success story from this method of treatment.

The psychiatrist nurse sounds like a good starting point. Try not to get caught up so much in what you think your diagnostic label should be. Concentrate on symptoms and how they are effecting your life.

I really appreciate your response! Thank you for that.

Believe me, I know that labels are just a convenient way to group symptoms into... something almost tangible. i am not looking for a label of any kind. I just want somebody to say either, "Hey, your symptoms point to X," or "You do not present as somebody needing medication."

But, I certainly don't want somebody that shuns the accepted methods of diagnosis.

I have never responded well to talk therapy. I'm one of those "too smart" people. Not that I possess any wisdom. I know that I don't. But I am just enough well-read that I question everything. And, when it comes down to brass tax, talk therapy is really black and white: "Don't do/think that anymore." I am a terrible patient in that regard.

At the very least I need some stasis in my mind. I have crippling anxiety, and all the talk in the world cannot calm it.

Perhaps if that can be helped - even a little - then I would be better equipped for talk therapy.

I'm sorry for rambling.

This Snake Oil. It is all about control, and controlling you. Seek a regular non religious therapist. Quoting scripture should be left for church services.

If this fellow is using his religious beliefs as a basis of choosing his manner of therapy I question his legitimacy. Where is the unbiased care here? How is this professional? Is this even legal? My suggestion is to find a therapist open minded and unbiased. This seems to me to go against everything a therapist should be doing.

If I couldn’t afford a doctor, I would try the lithium orotate on amazon. I don’t know if it works, but there are a lot of reviews on amazon. I considered it at one point, but I couldn’t figure out if it would work.

I heard on the book on tape Bipolar Survival Guide on YouTube that ADHD can be confused with bipolar, and certainly there are members here that have both.

If you can afford the nurse, I would go.

If you do have bipolar anxiety, I find gabapentin very, very effective and life-changing. It’s not addictive but can be abused so take only as directed.

I’ve heard Wal-mart has a lot of $4 prescriptions, you might check out which ones. Costco is supposed to be good too.

Thank y’all for the feedback.

After talking about the situation this past week with my wife, we decided that it would be best that I stopped meeting with this counselor.

But my wife is adamant that I call and make an appointment with the Hope clinic. Just the thought of it gets my anxiety levels to eleven!

In fact, I thought I could cancel my appointments with the counselor in question via text (hey text me each week with an appointment reminder that I can affirm with a simple keystroke). No such luck on canceling, though; I had to *gulp* call in. Took a couple hours to work up to that. I hate the phone.

Congtats on cutting ties with that counselor. I hope you make alternative arrangements soon.

Congrats on cutting ties. Sometimes it takes time to find the right counselor, for you. I agree with searching out where to find affordable meds, when and if you need meds.

Congrats on cutting ties with the counsellor. I hope you can find the right meds that work for you and can afford. I used to go to a christian counsellor through my old church i sure had wished i never went so glad i got to a psychiatrist and pyschologist, i have made tons of progress in my mental health

I saw a pdoc on a sliding scale- one who can prescribe meds that were also discounted through the clinic, too. Paid next to nothing when I was poor, but hence got a job with crappy insurance that doesn’t cover much....and can’t afford one! Lol
I use my MD to prescribe my Psych meds.

Religion shouldn’t have anything to do with mental health, but you can pray that God put in place the help you need to get well.

Hello:

I am sorry you are going through so much right now; I think all of us here are trying to learn more about our mental health and are trying to network with others. If you cannot afford healthcare, you may be eligible for medically needy medicaid. It's worth a shot. Then there are, as you mentioned, facilities that offer services on a sliding scale. Also, there may be local clinics that are free. I think proper care is the best way to go.

I'll say this, I do not share your association with religion. Religion often forces people to not seek treatment or hinders access to care. The religious often say things like, "If you just prayed harder, God would help you" or "You need to become born again, because of your sin you are being punished" or "You don't have a mental illness, the devil and his demons are affecting you, trying to steal you away from God and as such you need to pray harder and speak to your pastor/priest." These statements hinder access to real care and real treatment.

For me, I would never go to a facility whose primary care practices are dictated by their religion. I do not care what my doctor's religious practices are so long as they do not affect his or her approach to diagnoses and treatment. There are plenty of doctors available who do not allow their religious ideologies influence their approach to good sound medical practices. If I was in your situation, I would not go back. This is merely my opinion.