Can a person go to a regular doctor for a mental illness and skip the therapist?
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Regular doctors are not trained in mental illnesses. However, due to insurance companies and managed care, more primary care physicians are prescribing medications for depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. They SHOULD refer you to a psychiastrist, psychologist or other kind of therapist or counselor, depending on your symptoms. If your case is simple and the first type of medication that is prescribed works for you, then a "regular doctor" may be all that you need. However, it does not usually work this way, and regular doctors are simply not well trained in mental and emotional conditions. In addition, they don't always ask the right questions... so, if you have something more serious, they could miss it. On the other hand, if your "mental illness" symptoms are part of a physical illness - e.g. sometimes, symptoms of depression are due to thyroid conditions - then, they can (and should) do physical tests to rule out any physical or biological conditions.
Not really it depinds on what mental illness
Your regular doctor may be able to prescribe some meds, but will often refer you to a specialist or therapist.
yes, unless your insurance states otherwise. You family physician can prescribe meds for mental illnesses. Check your insurance plan.
yup but most likely they will just send you off with a prescription for anti-depressants...a friend of mine tested it out for an intro to psychology class..went to her family doctor and told him she's felt the blues for the pass 3.5 weeks all he did was give her anti-depressants! no professional but its best you see a trained therapist
Yes, however, I highly advise that the doctor be a psychiatrist since they specialize in psychiatric disorders. From my experience I have learned that often primary care physicians are not fully educated in psychiatric disorders. It will then be up to you and your psychiatrist as to whether or not you would benefit from seeing a therapist.
If you are obtaining services from a community mental health center, however, they may require you to see a therapist.
Yes, but it is likely that they will be reffered to a psychologist/therapist. And it depends on the mental illness...
i did. i went to a regular Dr. and it was OK for awhile...then it wasn't better, i was back to feeling all depressed and anxiety and everything, now i go to a therapist and it helps a lot more!
I think you best write down just what a doctor should do for you and then next year rewrite what actually happened to you and how really depressed you have become. Bad expectations make bad life.
If you go to a GP in regard to a mental illness, he should send you to a psychiatrist. It takes a specialist to determine what your diagnosis is and what-if any medication you need. Most therapists I know work on a referral basis anyhow. Being in denial about any illness can have very bad results.
Yes, they could.
I would imagine that unless the doctor has a specialization in mental health issues, that they would probably refer their patient out to a psychiatrist or therapist - unless the patient was adamant about not seeing one. Specialists are much more focused in their learning, and can usually offer a more effective treatment than generalists.
Your doctor might be able to prescribe certain medications, but the therapist may be able to help you get to the root issue (of whatever the problem is) so that you're not just masking things with drugs. Unfortunately, it seems like that's a pretty common route for a lot of people wanting a "quick fix". It's definitely important to treat the symptoms, but it is just as important to treat the source of the symptoms to decrease the chance of re-occurance.
you can go to a regular doc, like i did. he prescribed one anti-depressant after the next. none seem to work. you probably need to speak to a psychiatrist so he/she can pinpoint the source of your anxiety and prescribe the best known "antidote" especially for you. another thing -- a regular doc might not be aware of all of the side-effects and withdrawals of these meds as well as a specialist. trust me - i am currently going thru withdrawals and it's not fun!
why r u wanna skip him
No...You need a mental health professional...Actually, I prefer a therapist over a shrink any day...Any doc can throw pills at you!
yes but the treatment may not be as good.
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