How to find a good mental health provider?

[Z Y G G Y]

I actually have two questions.

First one is how to find a good mental health provider. I have health insurance. Humana. But there are so damn many providers that I just don't know how to pick a good one. I don't want to just pick one like you pick lottery numbers. How do you guys pick health care providers in general, not just mental health ones.

Second question: As far as mental health therapies, what is available. I want to really try and get rid of some of my mental health problems and I want a good way to do it. But I just don't really know how. I will go to a psychologist and a psychiatrist, once or twice a week. But that is totally not enough for what I am dealing with. How do I find group therapies? Where do I get this kind of info.

Info about meds would also be helpful. I am not that into taking meds, I'd rather do it without them, but the situation is pretty bad so I am willing to go with anything. I also have chronic main issues and I am on methadone for that, 50mg daily. I have been pretty suicidal daily and I don't want to leave my little girl motherless like I were. I want her to have a happy mommy so she grows up to be a happy person.

Thanks so much for any info you guys provide me. I am going to get a YMCA membership since working out helps out depression. I also want to work on my diet. I have a child now and I want to be the best mother I can for my little girl. This is my biggest motivator. I also have the best husband I could ask for. But unfortunately I had some pretty messed up childhood.

Ok enough about me. Please give me suggestions for how I can work on improving my mental health. I am already starting to meditate and pray. Anything is so so welcome.

Thanks BLers.

how about diet?

Thanks everyone for responding. Here start ma long journey towards relative normalcy.

 

[misteee]

hey there,

so id assume you have been to your local doctor and got a list of the shit loads out there i had the same deal my self.
first off determine whether you want to see a male or a female, for many people this is a serious issue, that should drastically already reduce your selection numbers.
once you have done that (well what i did) call the ones that attract your attention just for a little bit of information on price + therapies they offer.

i was actually quite shocked on how rude some of the places were, i am personally much happier to pay someone a higher rate nd get a good quality service.
youll be able to decide a lot quicker on a brief phone conversation as oppose to a sheet of paper.

seems as i am in australia and ur in america its probably layed out a bit different, but once you visit a psychologist the first session generally covers your problems/issues nd considers whether you need a further referal onto a psychiatrist or medication program. they usually get a very deep insight on how serious the problem is nd how often you will need to go.

most decent psychologists wont chuck you or refer you to medication as it simply masks the problem, a psychologist will help fix the problem so in most cases meds sometimes can get in the way of decent therapy.

i seen a psychologist previously, nd she used hypnosis on me which was very effective... just a bit of my previous dealings, hope i helped....

nd good on ya for looking into help, not many people do.

 

[Jabberwocky]

This should be a lot more simple than it is. I get a list of providers I can use. I ask friends, I google, I check disciplinary actions against their license to practice, I check out websites of proffesional guilds with certain affiliations like EMDR or Adlerian or something(just examples) and see who shows up from their organisation in my area. I look over their website.

Somebody is going to come along and recommend CBT. You know what-its a bogus piece of advice. CBT doesn't require a practioner, you could do it from a workbook. Every therapist should have CBT skills and someone advertising themselves as CBT oriented tells me they are riding a wave of bandwagoners who love to recommend CBT. I would hope every mental health practioner can do some CBT just as I would hope most art teachers could color a coloring book. Hopefully they can do something more than just CBT.

 

[endcredits]

I would recommend talking to your GP, they should have information on group therapies in your area and should be able to refer you to a psychiatrist as well as a psychologist. A discussion with a psychiatrist before taking a script from your GP for your emotional well-being would be the way to go in my opinion.

Finding the right psychologist/psychiatrist for you can be done in the ways Enki described as a lot of the time the referred psych is overbooked but it is still a starting point anyway.

I can give info about medication from my experience only and that is that SSRI's are useless and come along with a horrible discontinuation syndrome. SNRI's have the worst discontinuation syndrome of them all.. but they are much more effective, I would personally steer clear of them but in the end it is up too you and your doctor.

 

[euphoria]

I've googled and yelped some of my doctors before I've seen them. You can actually find a good number of patient reviews out there for doctors. That or ask your GP for advice, like endcredits said.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

oh just to add, I mostly am interested in natural stuff to help me like exercise, diet etc. Can anyone point me towards stuff that has helped them in the past.

------------------

I searcher google maps to look for places that do therapy and actually scheduled an appointment (!!!!).

I don't know what else I can do to help my situation. I signed up for local YMCA, will start school again in spring.

I mean like
pray
meditate
home therapies
help me out people
what hes helped in the past

I just dont want my kid to me as messed up as I am. I mean I keep it all under control now mostly but even a few situations with mommy staggering around and shit like that will leave a deep mark on her psyche. I dont want that. I am I am try it fix it now before she understands stuff.

I would recommend talking to your GP, they should have information on group therapies in your area and should be able to refer you to a psychiatrist as well as a psychologist. A discussion with a psychiatrist before taking a script from your GP for your emotional well-being would be the way to go in my opinion.

Finding the right psychologist/psychiatrist for you can be done in the ways Enki described as a lot of the time the referred psych is overbooked but it is still a starting point anyway.

I can give info about medication from my experience only and that is that SSRI's are useless and come along with a horrible discontinuation syndrome. SNRI's have the worst discontinuation syndrome of them all.. but they are much more effective, I would personally steer clear of them but in the end it is up too you and your doctor.

oh I know about the ADs. Don't want t go that route again unless I'm in shackles.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

This should be a lot more simple than it is. I get a list of providers I can use. I ask friends, I google, I check disciplinary actions against their license to practice, I check out websites of proffesional guilds with certain affiliations like EMDR or Adlerian or something(just examples) and see who shows up from their organisation in my area. I look over their website.

Somebody is going to come along and recommend CBT. You know what-its a bogus piece of advice. CBT doesn't require a practioner, you could do it from a workbook. Every therapist should have CBT skills and someone advertising themselves as CBT oriented tells me they are riding a wave of bandwagoners who love to recommend CBT. I would hope every mental health practitioner can do some CBT just as I would hope most art teachers could color a coloring book. Hopefully they can do something more than just CBT.

I did CBT with a therapist and it was a really positive experience cuz I dint wanna do it on my own so we just did it at her office. Also often you don;t see the fault thinking patterns in yourself that a therapist can point out. I think there are a lot of pluses to working CBT with a therapist. I really minimized my panic attack 10 zero and i don't think I could do it from a workbooks.

What kind of therapy do u recommend for me?

 

[Fawkes]

Zygs, if CBT with a professional worked before; there's nothing to say it can't work again. sure, it can be done on your own, but sometimes some people aren't strong enough to handle it on their own and they need some guidance.

you've just had the baby, right? so i can imagine your hormones are going crazy. you may even be suffering from postpartum depression and i'd try finding a counselor or life-coach that specializes in that area.