Diagnose

[mocha delight]

I don’t know if I’ve asked or not but I apologise if I have but can a psychologist make a mental health diagnosis? As I’ve done research on google and most websites say yes they can. Or is it just a clinical psychologist that can? Or just possibly a gp or definitely a psychiatrist? I just need a definite answer as I’m so confused about all it is.

[geoff]

Hello Mocha, yes they can, but they can't prescribe any medication, however, they can do interviews, psychological evaluations, testing and can make diagnoses to provide individual and group therapy.

They will recognize your symptoms and disorders that could cause how you are feeling and then make a diagnosis, although it may not necessarily be the same as how a psychiatrist would diagnose you, although eventually they would both agree.

So yes, psychologists can determine what you are suffering from and this can be used for any occasion.

Hope that helps you.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[mocha delight]

Thanks Geoff it dose but after yesterday I’m just feeling really low/down and like I don’t even want to continue seeing my psychologist and seriously thinking of canceling my next 2 booked in appointments. I’m also thinking I seriously made a mistake in seeking help, that it’s a waste of time, I prefer my binge eating/emotional eating and that I need a major break.

[geoff]

Hello Mocha, I'm sorry to hear what you are struggling with, but can I suggest that you leave your next two appointments, you can cancel the day before or within 24 hours, remember how you feel today may not be how you are before the those appointments.

Are you able to get back to me, I'd like to talk with you, the only trouble is I'm about to log off as I start very early in the morning, and please don't feel as though I'm not interested because I am, but let me know when those appointments are, in the morning I'll look at your previous comments so I can understand what you're going through, I wish I could do this with everyone, but I physically can't, I just pick up comments as they concern me along the way.

Take care and I'll get back to you tomorrow morning, and reply if you have time.

Geoff.

[Sophie_M]

Hey mocha_delight,

We're really sorry to hear that you are feeling so discouraged after your psychologist session. We understand that the therapy journey can be really challenging at times. Can we ask if something has occurred that left you feeling this way?

If you would like support more specifically around binge eating and emotional eating, we would recommend checking out the Butterfly Foundation website. They also have a helpline for anyone concerned by eating disorders or body image issues. All of the counsellors are qualified and have specialist training in eating disorders and body image. https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/

Geoff gives some good advice in taking your time to make your decision. We hope that today becomes a better day for you and that you can find something that might life your spirits like a long walk, a call to a friend, a cold drink at a cafe, or a warm bath with a book.

[geoff]

Hello Mocha, I'm on deck so please if you want to get back to us, that would be great.

We can never be sure or anticipate what the future holds for not only us, but for others as well, and to assume something is going to happen, is taking too much for granted as the result may end up completely different, so we have to deal with each situation as it comes to us.

The word assume is a word that's used too often because we don't know whether we're right or wrong in what we say.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Guest_1643]

hey mocha!

i never thought they could myself but have been told otherwise recently

a psychologist gave me a diagnosis and i wasn't happy about it - i thought she was overstepping as no psychiatrist or hospital staff had given that to me - (she was terrible anyway).

I didn't know this myself but I think psychologists can give diagnosises as well. How did you find out about the diagnosis, did the psychologist tell u directly?

I support you in changing psychologists if you need to - it's okay to do that. don't give up. It is really hard to find a good person to help.... you might have a totally different experience with a different professional. Also it might be interesting to find out more about the psychologists approach or style

There are a lot of different approaches - somatic therapy, psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, trauma-focussed, DBT, ACT - etc

Maybe this one's style isn't good for u but another one will be better. I'm hoping u are okay Mocha x

[geoff]

Hello Sleepy and Mocha, my last psychologist wasn't the best for me at all, he never believed anyone should take any medication what's so ever, not even a headache tablet, even saying that I shouldn't have OCD and made the most bizarre comments that no one could possibly believe, as soon as I told my GP, he was horrified.

I asked the psych if he'd had a hip or total hip operation then he'd know what pain is, as with many other operations, his answer was no and said if something awful happens to him, he users 'mindfulness', to me that's impossible and I am not someone to advocate this in extreme cases.

It certainly won't stop any pain, nothing will, except for pain relief medication, I only visited him a couple of times and know that any psychologist/psychiatrist that is not tuned into how you feel or are thinking leaves you feeling disconcerted.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Guest_1643]

Hi all

Geoff you have shown great empathy and I feel the same - it is super hard and frustrating when the psychologist says such things.

I saw a psychologist in my 20s who used to talk about herself and her personal life. I am embarrassed to say I saw her about 10 times and I never told her how much this bothered me - i was so shy and had severe PTSD and was overly compliant. I look back at that in horror.

Mocha, what is it that you did not like about the clinical psychologist? Maybe if you shared the experience here or with a helpline you would feel better.... just an idea... because it is hard to sometimes identify what isn't working and it might help to get it out.

Sending you warm wishes

[sa999]

Hi folks,

Sorry to hear you're going through a rough time, mocha delight, and sorry that you've had some difficult experiences with your previous psychologist, Geoff. It sounds like you were really invalidated. And obviously, medications are really useful for many things!!

I do want to note, though, that pain CAN be helped with psychological interventions such as mindfulness, particularly chronic pain. It's obviously not as instantaneous as a pain medication, but pain is something that we are able to shift our focus from, so mindfulness can actually be very helpful. I have experienced chronic pain myself and found mindfulness to be very useful. Obviously, if we resist it, it will be less useful (as we are not engaging in the practice effectively)- but this is the case for pretty much everything (even medications!).