How do we find a good Psychiatrist?

TiredSoul

Warrior Mom since 2007
I called our medical ins. co. and told them I need to find a provider in our area and they referred me to the book I had in my hands listing all preferred providers. He told me to call one by one and give them the scoop and they would see if they could help us or refer us somewhere else.

Is there a better way to do this? I didn't get much from looking in the phone book either. Any ideas? I would at least like to know their specialties as well as credentials. Should I just do a google search on each name and see what I find. Seeme like the ins. co. should have been more help.
 

smallworld

Moderator
Call your pediatrican to say you're worried about all the bad medication reactions and want a second opinion with a good child psychiatrist. Run the names you got from the insurance company by the pediatrician to see if he knows any of them. Also ask him if he knows of any child psychiatrists that other patients have been particularly happy with, even if they are out of your insurance coverage.

Since your child is so young, you absolutely want to see a child psychiatrist.

Is there a children's or teaching hospital in your area? They frequently have child psychiatrists on staff who could see your child (and the hospital providers may be covered by insurance as well).

I hate to say it, but there's a chance you may have to go out of plan to find a competent child psychiatrist. All three psychiatrists my kids see are out of plan, but we are reimbursed a portion of the cost when we submit the claims on our own. None of the really good psychiatrists in our area take insurance so it really wasn't a choice for us.

Do you have any friends who are in the mental health profession who might be able to give you referrals? Or do you have any friends with older children with issues who might have already sought treatment? Word of mouth is one of the best ways I know to get good referrals. I received one referral from a friend of a friend who is a child psychologist, and another referral from our pediatrician, who called child psychiatrists he knew but weren't taking new patients and asked them for names of good colleagues. Both psychiatrists ended up being very good choices for my kids.
 

klmno

Active Member
Hi! I would recommend looking specificly for a board certified child & adolescent psychiatrist, if you can find one in your area. If you are happy with the psychologist who did the testing, you could ask him/her first. Ask any friends you have with children on medications and the pediatrician. This should start you with a list of at least 2 to 3 names. Then, I would call each and ask if they are accepting new patients and if they take your insurance. If they aren't or don't ask them for someone else you might could use.

Good luck!
 

slsh

member since 1999
Smallworld as usual has excellent advice.

You might also check out the WA State medication Society to find a psychiatric.

It's taken a lot of trial and error to find a good psychiatrist. I hope your search is quick and successful.
 

earthprowler

New Member
definitely ask your doctor to refer you to who they think will be the best qualified for children. i also take difficult child to counseling where he gets to have play therapy once a week. it helps to draw him out to find out what's going on and how we can help him more.
 

rachelfran

New Member
do you have any local online communities that you can post on ??? I have a couple in my area and people share names ... Also - if you get a name that is NOT on your list - sometimes they will talk to you over the phone and let you know if they know anyone on your list...


Good luck!
Rachel
 

Baffled

New Member
We're in the process of changing psychiatrists. I looked up support groups online of mothers with children with mood disorders. Then I called the mother of the leader of the group and asked for a reference for a good psychiatrist. She told me who most of them used and also how much they and the kids liked him. Our appointment is April 24th. We'll see.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Other moms and school counsellors and therapists have been the most helpful methods of finding a good psychiatrist for my kids. We found our first one by accident. I called the children's hospital near where we lived then. I was extremely upset and they got us in with the first available doctor. We were blessed in that she nailed the problem on the first visit and was very compassionate and understanding. She went very very slowly with medications.

Once you have an appointment follow your instincts about the doctor. Most of the moms I know say they make the best evaluations of doctors based on their gut instinct.

Insurance companies generally do NOT give you specific info about a specific doctor. Ours says they cannot. If they give you a specific recommendation about one, then they can be sued by that doctor or other docs for discrimination. Not sure if this is true, but it is what they say.

Susie
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I would talk to people at work, friends, family, and ask for a referral. That's how we have found the best ones.
 
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