[Secretum]

Hello everyone. I am a college kid with bipolar II. In about 2 weeks, I will be going back to school, and will have to find a therapist and a psychiatrist near my university. I think it would be really convenient if they could be the same person! Do you have any suggestions on how to find a good pdoc who is also a good t? Or any experiences with this type of clinician? Thanks.

[Butterflies Are Free]

Good question. You might try contacting one of the counselors at your university to see if he/she has a list of doctors. Once you have the list, you can then call and ask the docs if they also do therapy.

[Christina86]

I guess my university is different than many -- I had a psychiatrist who also did psychotherapy. But best bet would be to contact the health services place at your school and ask for a resource like that.

[sunrise]

Nowadays, psychiatrists emphasize psychopharmacology but in earlier times, they used to place more emphasis on psychotherapy, and they got more training in it during medical school and their residency. So maybe if you look for a pdoc who is older, you would find one with the training (and interest) in therapy that you are looking for. I guess though that when you're screening them on the phone, it's just as easy to ask if they do therapy than it is to ask how old they are. Since you are at a college, maybe they have a central campus clinic where you can ask--the receptionist would know? Good luck.

[emilyjeanne]

Originally Posted by Secretum

Hello everyone. I am a college kid with bipolar II. In about 2 weeks, I will be going back to school, and will have to find a therapist and a psychiatrist near my university. I think it would be really convenient if they could be the same person! Do you have any suggestions on how to find a good pdoc who is also a good t? Or any experiences with this type of clinician? Thanks.

I do therapy with my Pdoc. Everyone generalizes that Pdoc's don't do therapy anymore. That is so untrue. In NYC most Pdoc's DO therapy along with pharmacology.

I think that people who make these statements have regular therapists who must refer to a PDoc for medication management. Yes, there are patients who only do medication with a pdoc. But most people would be surprised to know that most have their own therapy clients. Where they can fit in a few medication management patients once every six weeks or so.

It has been my experience that therapy with a Pdoc trained in psychoanalysis is the best route. I would call or look on the web for the local psychoanalysis training institute in the area where your school is. They can recommend a good PDOC who does therapy. Or you may be able to get low cost therapy working with a student from their institute. Please note that their students are already practicing professionals who are doing post MD/PHD training.

Hope this helps.

[emilyjeanne]

One more thing. My Pdoc is in her late 40's. I know that all the medical schools in NYC train their psych doctors in therapy techniques. Most do advance training.

[Butterflies Are Free]

I go to a male Pdoc who manages my medications - he also does brief therapy sessions with me. I see a female T who helps me work through other issues. However, both my Pdoc and my therapist have spoken to each other, my Pdoc knows the issues I deal with, and my T knows all about the medications and the effects they can have on me.

[Secretum]

Thanks, everyone! I am going to talk to the case manager at the counseling center at my university; since they only allow 10 free therapy sessions per calendar year (which I've already used up) they have a woman who helps people get connected with providers in the community. Hopefully she'll be able to help me find a pdoc/t hybrid.

Emily, thanks for the tip. I didn't know that there were entire institutes nowadays dedicated to training psychoanalysts. I suppose I am just blinded by the CBT empire...I don't know which approach to therapy I want to pursue yet, but I'm glad you like your analyst.