Is will see a new T and it scares me!

I will be seeing a new T on march 25th and it scares me! But in order to see a psychiatrist I must see this new T a couple of times first.This scares me! How many people will I have to keep telling my story of domestic violence,childhood abuse, mystification, and continue to be open and vulnerable to strangers to get to minimizing my pain or see if I have a chemical em balance; or to get a med that will help my depression?
I mean does anyone have an idea what that meeting would entail? Or what questions may be asked? Or what is the purpose of the 2 visits when I already have a T? Why can't a referral of my family doctor and my T be enough to skip theses first 2 sessions? When a lot of the facts are already on paper.

Maybe if you all will share some good experiences with a new T and a P this will help me to not be so afraid.

Smilie

((((Smilie)))) Have you asked your current T why you need to see a second T before you can go to a p-doc? Maybe he/she knows. Would your current T be able to help smooth the way by calling the new T on the phone and explaining some of your root issues so you don't have to go through them anew with the new T? I know that in the future I will be working with a new T on a very specialized issue and my current T has said he will consult with her on the phone. This is very reassuring to me. I hope your current T can offer some explanation and reassurance to you. Maybe if you know the reasons why you have to see the new T, it will help ease your anxiety.

(((((((smilie))))))))

I have only been to my one t and one pdoc, I wish I could offer insight onto this for you. I am sorry that you have to again tell the stories. Never feel minimized, this is you and your story and it matters a great deal......i am hoping you get through the meeting well.

I am on my second T. The second T reviewed the assessment/diagnoses notes from the first T's session. Does this new T assess/diagnose for the Pdoc or something? It sounds odd to me if you are already seeing a T for them to ask you to see a new T. What is your current T's qualifications? What is the new T's qualifications? Will some of your records me forwarded in order to save you from having to re-hash your story over and over again? I doubt that anyone wants to cry their way through the same story over and over again.
I hope it works out for you. I was really nervous about meeting my second T. But, it turned out okey. I suspect she will do an assessment/diagnosis session and treatment planning with you. Do you know if there is a specific issue that they want you to work on with the second T? I'd have some questions for my T and family doctor about this. I'd also have some for the new T.
Let us know what happens.

Maybe the p-docs are in high demand and so they are sending people to see a clinical psychologist first to assess whether medication is likely to benefit. Does this seem right?

For people with trauma issues in particular, medication is of limited effectiveness. If you get flashbacks and the like then medication can drug you so that your emotions are more muted and the flashbacks aren't as bothersome to you, but there are other downsides to that (such as reduced motivation reduced ability to focus and the like). Sometimes people with trauma histories (or recurrent depression or anxiety that comes from unprocessed childhood stuff) go on the hunt for the medication cure. Unfortunately in those cases while medication might help take the edge off it a little, there really is no medication cure.

So I'm guessing that the psychologist will be assessing whether you are likely to benefit from medication. In this day and age people are typically very keen (both consumer and provider) to put people on medication. Consumers feel that it validates their distress and providers know consumer satisfaction is highest when the consumer leaves with a prescription. But it might well be that medication isn't really the answer...

> How many people will I have to keep telling my story of domestic violence,childhood abuse, mystification, and continue to be open and vulnerable to strangers to get to minimizing my pain or see if I have a chemical em balance; or to get a med that will help my depression?

Well... Until you find a therapist who is validating of your pain rather than minimising or dismissive of it. I have to say that I'm a little wary of cognitive behaviour therapists with respect to trauma based depression. The cogntive restructuring exercises are typically experienced (by those clients) as invalidating and dismissive. But that being said some therapists are able to transcend their theory. If you could manage to see someone who has some experience with DBT (hence with the notion of balancing acceptance with change) then you might be more likely to find that they have a sort of semi grasp on acceptance.

Sounds to me that the facts on paper (about the trauma) are precisely why they want the psychologist to assess whether medication is likely to benefit.

First meetings (and sometimes second and third meetings) are fairly scary. I really would think that psychological intervention is more likely to alleviate your symptoms than medication. But that being said both in conjunction can work really well for some people.