Is there a psychiactric Hospital that

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2005
Is there a psychiactric Hospital that
4
Thu, 12-07-2006 - 10:09pm
isn't like a prison? I like to watch Dr.Phil and there was a show where they did a brain scan to see how he reacted to stress. He also took a bunch of tests to rule out certain disorders. I was in a psychiatric hospital once and it was more like a prison. Forget what you see on tv. Anyhow, I just want to see a doctor who will take the time to found out whats wrong with me and not just write rx and rx. I was talking to one of the techs when I was at the hospital and he's going to school for research or something like that. I can't remember exactly what it was but anyhow, I asked him why not pdoc? His response was all they do is write rx all day.
Kathi Taylor
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2002
Thu, 12-07-2006 - 10:20pm

For the record, there are good ones out there. In my home state of Arizona, going to the hospital was never a bad thing. I always got good care there.

And, sometimes it's a good thing when a pdoc does nothing but write scripts. I like it when a pdoc doesn't argue with me about what my proper medicine is...I KNOW, darnit! And once? I did go to a pdoc who used talk therapy in his sessions besides just writing scripts. He ended up sexually harrassing me.

Express!
Beth "Petrouchka"

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Thu, 12-07-2006 - 11:01pm

Unfortunately, writing rx is pretty much what most pdocs do these days--I'm sure some by choice, but in most cities there is such a shortage of them they don't have time to do therapy and leave that to tdocs.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2005
Fri, 12-08-2006 - 12:46am
Hi 'formygrls', I've recently come across iVillage and just started to make some postings. I'm requesting that the person I send my message to needs to read my 'Personal Profile' first to understand more about me, which saves time. // About Dr. Phil, all the professionals in the psychiatric field I know comment that "it's only a TV show and to remember that's all it is". // About your comment of hospital psyc-wards being more like prisons, the answer for the most part is a flat YES. I've been in two due to my 'melt-downs' and fully understand all the precautions they need to take to make sure the patients either don't harm themselves or harm others. I also visited a friend who was in a 'lock down' and on suicide watch because of her extreme depression. If you also read my Profile you may have noted that I was on the Board of Directors of 3 Mental Health Centers, so I've had opportunities to visit different hospitals, and they're mostly the same in that respect. // As far as finding someone who'll take time with you instead of just handing you an rx and sending you off, - well, - there are some needed steps to go through. First start with your personal Doctor to make sure that you don't have a physical problem that 'appears' to be a mental problem, Next, 'shop around' to find a therapist who actually works with clients who have B/P disorders and not the ones who handle the 'general needs walk-ins'. I recommend contacting your local Mental Health Center for either a recommendation or to take your case themselves by using one of their mental health team members. (such as the therapist team who works with the 'cryonic mental disorders'). Then after the therapist gets a good understanding of your symptoms, that therapist can make either a referral to a P-Doc or report back to your personal Doctor as to the findings. Please remember that your personal Doctor is a 'general' Doctor, and can't take time with you to do the needed 'talk therapy' to find out what's going on. After that is when you need (maybe) to bring in a P-Doc to review all the findings and start the PROPER rx set-ups and follow-up reviews. But you need to keep seeing the therapist since that's the person who'll keep you in proper balance with the real world. If you're a B/P person, some of your thoughts and actions can be kind'a 'off the wall' sometimes. // As far as any good tests to determine the different forms of 'mental illnesses', sorry, I don't know of a darn one as of now. Even EEGs, MRIs, brain scans, or blood tests, totally miss almost everything mentally. Unless the mental illness stems from a malfunctioning organ, there's no other cross-over tests I'm aware of. Yes, Dr. Phil could show what's going on within the brain during a period of mental stress, but that's kind'a 'so what'...we all have that going on every day, but it isn't a 'mental disorder' test of any kind. I hope all this helps a little, and good luck, Tommy
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 12-11-2006 - 11:47am

The ward I go to here in Florida (the good one, there is one that's not so good) is wonderful. Yes, you're locked in...but that's just safety precautions...otherwise, its excellent...very expensive though...thank God for good insurance...its $1500 per day. Wow.