flutterby
Fly away!
I don't have a hard opinion on this (hard to believe coming for me, I know ). I do think ADHD is quick to be diagnosed, but that seems to be coming from pediatricians, not psychiatrists.
I was told from a young age that difficult child needs to be medicated. However, no one knew what to call what was going on - or even what to medicate for. I wasn't willing to put her on medications at 7,8,9,10 years old that haven't had long term studies on the effects on the pediatric population, for one, and wasn't willing to put her on strong medications without knowing what we were treating, for another.
I do think psychiatrists don't take enough time with patients, and I think they discount the parent's experience out of hand.
I'm biased in that I haven't met a psychiatrist that I like. I realize that psychiatric medications involve a lot of trial and error, but I think psychiatrists are often too quick to change medications, up medications, change diagnosis, etc, when something doesn't respond the way they want it to.
I'm not pro- or anti- medication. I'm pro- take the time to figure out what is going on and do our best from there. Not - spend 45 minutes one time with a patient and start guessing.
I was told from a young age that difficult child needs to be medicated. However, no one knew what to call what was going on - or even what to medicate for. I wasn't willing to put her on medications at 7,8,9,10 years old that haven't had long term studies on the effects on the pediatric population, for one, and wasn't willing to put her on strong medications without knowing what we were treating, for another.
I do think psychiatrists don't take enough time with patients, and I think they discount the parent's experience out of hand.
I'm biased in that I haven't met a psychiatrist that I like. I realize that psychiatric medications involve a lot of trial and error, but I think psychiatrists are often too quick to change medications, up medications, change diagnosis, etc, when something doesn't respond the way they want it to.
I'm not pro- or anti- medication. I'm pro- take the time to figure out what is going on and do our best from there. Not - spend 45 minutes one time with a patient and start guessing.