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I have a question re: what is considered unacceptable or unprofessional behaviour on the part of a psychiatrist? I had an assessment at a hospital earlier today and was quite upset by the psychiatrist's comment to me.
Some background: I have a history of panic disorder, generalized anxiety and social anxiety. The panic is really minimal for the past 10 yrs but agoraphobia and social anxiety remain and have made work & school very, very trying. I've been attempting to finish my doctoral degree for the past 8 years (!), and have been feeling incredibly "stuck" in my life. I decided to seek help once again to see if just maybe there was something I could do at this point in my life to finally get over these issues & start living a more functional life....which brings me to my appointment today.
My GP wrote me a referral to see a psychiatrist at a local hospital &I was looking forward to this in the hope that this ap't would lead to some positive changes in my life. When the psychiatrist came to get he was accompanied by 2 residents (family medicine & psychiatry residents). I was a bit upset because I hadn't been told I would be interviewed by 3 people and I told him I was surprised but he simply replied, "this is a teaching hospital"...to which I replied, "I know it's a teaching hospital, but I still didn't know there would be 3 of you." I felt this was an unfair way to inform someone and I felt very much put on the spot (it's very difficult to divulge your whole personal info to a stranger, let alone 3 strangers at once). However, I went through the assessment and talked very openly about many personal issues as I wanted to give them a full picture. After 90 mins or so I was asked to leave the room & after they consulted I came back in where the psychiatrist basically told me the following (as accurate as I can recall)...."since you have less than 1 panic attack in a month there's no point trying SSRIs, your panic seems to be controlled, and we don't really offer long-term therapy here, and so after talking to my colleagues, basically, all I can tell you is GET A LIFE, TAKE SOME CHANCES (the words in caps are literally what he said). 😱
I was so taken aback by this that I just stood up and said "Wow, that's really nice. I wasn't comfortable with being assessed by 3 people yet I was very open and this is all you have to say, I was hoping for maybe a bit more empathy." He acknowledged I was very open and then said "regardless of what I just said or how I may have phrased it, it doesn't change the fact that we still can't really offer you anything." I just said "Ok" and walked out as I didn't know what else I could possibly say! I felt completely belittled -- I had just revealed so much personal (& painful) history only to get this kind of response.
I was especially concerned that he was presenting this example to two residents.
I'm thinking of writing a letter to the ombudsperson of the hospital, however, I was hoping to first get a sense of how others feel about this and how you might handle this situation?
Any & all opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 🙂
Some background: I have a history of panic disorder, generalized anxiety and social anxiety. The panic is really minimal for the past 10 yrs but agoraphobia and social anxiety remain and have made work & school very, very trying. I've been attempting to finish my doctoral degree for the past 8 years (!), and have been feeling incredibly "stuck" in my life. I decided to seek help once again to see if just maybe there was something I could do at this point in my life to finally get over these issues & start living a more functional life....which brings me to my appointment today.
My GP wrote me a referral to see a psychiatrist at a local hospital &I was looking forward to this in the hope that this ap't would lead to some positive changes in my life. When the psychiatrist came to get he was accompanied by 2 residents (family medicine & psychiatry residents). I was a bit upset because I hadn't been told I would be interviewed by 3 people and I told him I was surprised but he simply replied, "this is a teaching hospital"...to which I replied, "I know it's a teaching hospital, but I still didn't know there would be 3 of you." I felt this was an unfair way to inform someone and I felt very much put on the spot (it's very difficult to divulge your whole personal info to a stranger, let alone 3 strangers at once). However, I went through the assessment and talked very openly about many personal issues as I wanted to give them a full picture. After 90 mins or so I was asked to leave the room & after they consulted I came back in where the psychiatrist basically told me the following (as accurate as I can recall)...."since you have less than 1 panic attack in a month there's no point trying SSRIs, your panic seems to be controlled, and we don't really offer long-term therapy here, and so after talking to my colleagues, basically, all I can tell you is GET A LIFE, TAKE SOME CHANCES (the words in caps are literally what he said). 😱
I was so taken aback by this that I just stood up and said "Wow, that's really nice. I wasn't comfortable with being assessed by 3 people yet I was very open and this is all you have to say, I was hoping for maybe a bit more empathy." He acknowledged I was very open and then said "regardless of what I just said or how I may have phrased it, it doesn't change the fact that we still can't really offer you anything." I just said "Ok" and walked out as I didn't know what else I could possibly say! I felt completely belittled -- I had just revealed so much personal (& painful) history only to get this kind of response.
I was especially concerned that he was presenting this example to two residents.
I'm thinking of writing a letter to the ombudsperson of the hospital, however, I was hoping to first get a sense of how others feel about this and how you might handle this situation?
Any & all opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 🙂
