<p>It is not easy to find a good psychiatrist/mental health therapist. But, heck, I have trouble finding a good handyman, contractor, cleaning lady as well. You do have to shop around. You start with people you know, particularly if you know they are seeing someone or are affiliated in the field. You work with those people you know whose opinions you respect and like. Because it is very, very difficult to find a good match, it is really a search that the motivated party--the parents if they want help in this situation, has to work at doing. And it does cost money. If you can find some community resources that are free or less money, that can be a good start. Psychiatric social workers, counselors also can be of help. Finding the first good lead to professional in the mental health field is the first tough step. Then once, the parent--or motivated party finds someone, you work with that professional to help you find someone for the person who is the main source of heartache in the family. Most psychiatrists want to talk to other family members, certainly the one who is causing the stress and grief, so it would not be a problem for the parent's shrink to talk to the person in question.<br>
My son had (has) a bad attitude towards these doctors just as you,Cajun dad has. And I am not a therapy lover myself. My husband downright hates the whole idea of therapy. It did take me about a year to find the right match for me. He talked to my son--who was more than happy to help mom out--he was told that this was not for him, but for me, and it went from there. The first referral that was made for my son, he did not like. He likes this doctor very much. That is a great first step. I think the "stigma" of seeing a shrink was diminished because in is being done in tandem with my counseling. He knows that I have issues with him, and he is not happy about his situation. This is a arms length away method of addressing things. Though I have never directly asked my shrink questions of diagnosis for my son, the appropriate comments from him have helped me understand some of the underlying issues that my son is fighting at this time, and I have gotten some practical suggestions on how to deal with specific problems with him.
Mental health therapy is terribly expensive and is rarely covered well under health policies. It is hurting us financially to do this, but I feel that it would be well worth it, if we can come to some acceptable paths.<br>
If there are signs of mental agitation, problems, mood disorders, it is important to get a complete physical including a very thorough blood screen. Not being a doc, I don't know the specifics, but there are disorders of the thyroid, and other physical problems that can be the source of the problem. If you have decent medical insurance, the physical screens would be covered. It would be negligent not to check this out, and it should be a first step. You can consult with your primary physician and have these tests done without bringing the shrink into it, but that baseline needs to be there.<br>
I found my psychiatrist a while back when I did not want or feel I needed therapy. Just heard about him from someone else, and a chance meeting, resulted in my feeling that this was a wise, compassionate, knowledgeable doctor. A brief check of his credentials and background (online) when I decided to call for a consultation, was the next step.<br>
As I said initially, finding any competent match for any professional services--attorney, financial consultant,etc is a touch and go search. We have been working on getting a part time person to help out my mother in law for 5 years, and have yet to succeed. Because a psychiatrist is going to be privy to some very personal things, it is particularly difficult to find a match.</p>