Seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, need help with what to expect

[Dirt_Berries]

Hello all,

I started seeing a psychologist last year (much overdue), and she recommended that I get myself officially diagnosed by a psychiatrist. I've gone through all the steps and managed to secure myself an appointment, which is coming up next week! I'm starting to get nervous.

To make the most of the appointment I have decided to write a mental health summary of sorts for the psychiatrist. My mind tends to go blank under stress and I'm concerned I won't be able to express myself effectively, so I'm hoping a summary will make things go smoothly.

My question is, what should I include in the mental health summary?

I did some internet searches and sites suggested including the following:
-Medications I take
-Sources of stress
-Drug/alcohol use
-Physical symptoms
-Thoughts of self harm

Is there anything else I should add? I'd be grateful for any advice regarding what to expect in general too.

For context, my psychologist has told me I have anxiety issues caused by complex family trauma and a cancer diagnosis last year.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond.

[britishtvfan]

hey dirt berries, welcome. like you, i was scared to see a psychiatrist for the first time. but i've been seeing mine since 2019.

yes those are all good ideas. a psychiatrist will diagnose you & work out treatment options, including medication, ask you if you've tried certain meds & doses, ask what treatment you've tried, stuff like that. it's similar to seeing a psychologist, in my experience, except they diagnose you & deal with medication.

i would suggest try to do as much research as you can with psychiatrists, their qualifications, what they specialise in, etc. i hope you find one & it goes well.

sorry if my reply wasn't that helpful, but yeah you pretty much mentioned everything. they will ask you questions anyway.

[Petal22]

Hi Dirt Berries,

Wellcome to our forums!

I understand seeing a psychiatrist for the first time can make us nervous.

The first time I saw a psychiatrist I felt anxious and unsure of what to expect.

Someone put me at ease by telling me that a psychiatrist is just another doctor with a different title…. It put things into perspective for me.

I was asked a series of questions at my visit so a diagnosis could be made.

Well done for seeing one… wishing you all the best..

[geoff]

Hello Dirt Berries, your psychologist is qualified enough to give you a diagnosis and what the psychiatrist may say could be different from what the psychologist has said so the question is who do you believe because both are trained differently.

The psychiatrist has the AD they always favour first, (that's not to say that the psychologist does the same), but when I saw the former they didn't like to answer any question I asked them and their personality was completely different to a psychologist.

If you add 'what are the trigger points' the psychologist will answer but the psychiatrist may not, they want to be in control of the session.

It's good to write down these points because when the session is going it's easy to forget what we want to say as your involvement may be in another topic.

Please let us know how you get on.

Geoff.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Dirt Berries,

Welcome!

You are very prepared and I'm glad that you're reaching out to see a psychiatrist. The summary sounds like a great idea, but it's also ok for things to go blank or not go smoothly. I've had lots of appointments where I've said "I don't remember" or "ummm" so it's okay if that happens to you too! It's also totally fine if you'd like to bring someone in with you for support.

Other things your psychiatrist might want to ask you include what it was like for you growing up, friends, relationships, family, intimate relationships. They might ask you if there's a history of mental illness in your family.

They'll want to know what your life is like day to day; if you are working/studying, what you've been up to since school, your hobbies/interests and how your mental health is.

Things that would be really helpful to write down include medications (names, dosages, when you started/stopped taking them) and the health professionals you've seen (contact details if possible, when you started/stopped seeing them).

I've seen quite a few psychiatrists and honestly it's just nosy questions time; while you're free to not answer anything, the more information they have the more they can help in giving a diagnosis.

Here's a video as well about seeing a psychiatrist for the first time: -

https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/psychiatry-explained/your-first-appointment

I hope this helps. Best of luck for next week and feel free to update us or ask more questions 🙂

rt

[Dirt_Berries]

Cheers for the advice and kind welcomes, everyone.

I'll post an update after the appointment.

[mocha delight]

Hi dirt berries I’m so glad you did this post as my psychologist told me before Christmas it might be a good idea for me to see a psychiatrist so this tips will come in handy at the time for me to. But unfortunately my gps practice has first sent it electronically to this psychiatrist I was given the name of and faxed but they have not received it. I had a phone appointment with my gp yesterday which she said it will be refaxed & a copy will be put in the post plus that basically she’ll hunt down an email to send it that way to.

[mocha delight]

Hi dirt berries just checking in to see how you are feeling pre first appointment with a psychiatrist and wishing you the best of luck with the appointment 🤞🤗.

[shyGrace]

hello, i feel like i need some professional help as well as i have been struggling with my self esteem issues since i was a kid.

and now as an adult, i feel like i really need to deal with them already instead of being in denial about it.

unfortunately, i have no idea where to start. any advise? not sure if i need a counsellor, a psychologist, psychiatrists or whatever.

and where do i find one? will it be confidential? will my work knows that i am seeing one?

[Guest_1643]

Hi shy grace, therapy can be great...

All are good options,

Psychologists are expensive but if u get a mental health care plan from Ur gp, u can get a subsidy on Ur first twenty sessions

Psychiatrists are pricey because they are medical drs but Medicare covers a lot of their fee, for a psychiatrist a mental health care plan doesn't apply, you just need a referral from Ur gp

Have u considered seeing a social worker? They can also do counselling, and u can also get a mental health care plan for one.

I struggle with really poor self esteem and I think it's been rhe root of many of my problems, so I can relate.

to be honest I feel like social workers have helped me the most in this area.