Potential risk in receiving therapy during residency?

[hebel]

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This article on medical board discrimination towards physicians with mental illness and the accompanied discussion on reddit left me with some personal concerns, apart from the obvious bigger issue (which is a shame).

I've been told by mentors and other residents that having a psychotherapist during residency can be a really beneficial experience, both personally and professionally as you're learning to do therapy yourself. I have no ongoing mental health issues, but wanted to start therapy for self discovery and personal growth mostly.

Could this pose an issue with a state medical board in the future and end up being more of a problem than its worth? I would be using our programs insurance, so it would be traceable.

 

[wolfvgang22]

No. Don't worry about it. Don't disclose it unless asked specifically. You don't have any illness and it is part of traditional training.

 

[WisNeuro]

No. Don't worry about it. Don't disclose it unless asked specifically. You don't have any illness and it is part of traditional training.

For insurance to cover it, wouldn't they need a diagnosable condition?

 

[SourceOfDenial]

The biggest deficit I see in residency training is not supporting residents in pursuing their own therapy.

I'd argue that self of the therapist work is the most important thing someone does in residency. If you are going to see patients in a therapeutic context, you benefit from being in therapy.

Therapy is not simply for illness or pathology. Using different therapeutic frameworks to explore yourself is not a bad thing, and needn't be pathologized.

 

[Ironspy]

Agree with above. If you plan to get disability insurance do that before starting therapy

 

[splik]

For insurance to cover it, wouldn't they need a diagnosable condition?

some therapists are willing to see residents for free or low fee. some programs offer faculty appointments to those who provide therapy and count it as teaching hours. otherwise, "adjustment disorder" is a common diagnosis for residents or "unspecified anxiety" and most residents probably do meet criteria for one or more mental disorder/personality disorder anyway.

 

[SourceOfDenial]

For insurance to cover it, wouldn't they need a diagnosable condition?

Insurances dependent. BCBS allow some billing for V codes. Others sometimes differ.

Edit:
Read the article linked, wow. Terrible. Good reminder to always have a lawyer and volunteer nothing. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Stagg737]

For insurance to cover it, wouldn't they need a diagnosable condition?

If OP's program has a clinic for students/residents attached it may be free. My program has a setup like this.

 

[hebel]

If OP's program has a clinic for students/residents attached it may be free. My program has a setup like this.

Students have one, but there is none for residents. They do have a list of community providers that accept our institution's insurance.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Students have one, but there is none for residents. They do have a list of community providers that accept our institution's insurance.

For me, I wouldn't do any therapy that bills your insurance unless you have a real psychiatric disorder, given the current climate with medical boards. Find a therapist who will see psychiatry residents for free or for a reduced cash fee. When I was in residency we had an older psychoanalyst who would see residents like this. We also had group therapy in PGY3 that was done on didactic day.

If your program really wants you to learn about therapy by participating in therapy, they will work with you to set up something within the program as part of your didactics. Sounds like they are half assing it right now. To be fair, I think most programs are like this any more when it comes to learning about therapy.

 

[Mass Effect]

The thing is, I think a lot of doctors spend a lot of time reading articles like the above, thinking "oh no, should I get therapy/help? What if this happens to me? Maybe I should just suffer in silence."

The dialogue needs to change to "it is disgraceful that this is happening to our colleagues and we're not banding together nationally to fight back against these medical boards and physician programs that are destroying careers."

 

[FlowRate]

Adding to the complexity is the difficulty finding a good therapist when all of the ones you'd otherwise be referred to are cash only... No clue what number people have in mind when they talk about a sliding scale for residents but even $100 an hour is quite a lot on a resident salary.

 

[deleted480308]

Adding to the complexity is the difficulty finding a good therapist when all of the ones you'd otherwise be referred to are cash only... No clue what number people have in mind when they talk about a sliding scale for residents but even $100 an hour is quite a lot on a resident salary.

So is finding time in your schedule, which you won’t have

 

[FlowRate]

So is finding time in your schedule, which you won’t have

There are plenty of programs with "scholarly" time. Also, our program is supportive of making time in your schedule.

 

[deleted480308]

There are plenty of programs with "scholarly" time. Also, our program is supportive of making time in your schedule.

That’s a really nice thing to hear, it’s certainly not available to all residents