Let's Talk About Psychiatrists
In my thirty years of being in psychiatric care I have had at least nine psychiatrists. I have had three because of turnover in the public system, three who rotated through my ward during my commitment, one when hospitalized for a potentially lethal small bowel obstruction, and the other two in private care. The first private psychiatrist, who was the best psychiatrist I experienced, had to leave the state for health reasons (2013-2016). His replacement is also excellent. My first experience with a psychiatrist was in the public system (1994-2008?) and he did more harm than good. He did do two positive things in the fourteen years I saw him. So, my experience suggests that you have a 33 1/3 % chance of getting a good psychiatrist and that private psychiatrists are better than public system psychiatrists. I say the latter with the caveat that, again in my experience, the public system I experienced had a reputation for making doing good psychiatry difficult and a high turnover rate because of this difficulty. The best psychiatrists did not seem to last long. I did have one excellent psychiatrist in public care who saved my life. What do you think makes a good psychiatrist? And what has been your experience?