A good psychiatrist in Denver?

June 7, 2005 4:35 PM

Can anyone recommend a good psychiatrist in Denver? Probably for depression. I've read earlier posts about nutrition, water and exercise which are all good and have helped in the past, for awhile, and I'd love to find someone who would take nutrition into account but friends are starting to say "Go see someone!" and I'm about at the end of my rope & hanging by my teeth. I get the impression from my doc's office that they just recommend whoever is on their list, sort of like 1-800 DENTIST. My email is jsanctuary at aol dot com if you'd rather not post. Thanks guys.
posted by BoscosMom to health (4 comments total)

I don't have a psychiatrist to recommend in Denver.

I'm not trying to derail this, but, given how you phrased your question I wonder if you've gone to see a therapist? Psychiatry tends to go for the most intrusive solution first (meds), and you seem to be showing some hesitation about going. The fact is that 80% of people treated by a therapist experience improvement very quickly, the same as the number who improve from going to a psychiatrist. By all means, if you're feeling depressed and distressed you should go see someone. Especially if your friends are starting to suggest it.

My email is in my profile if you have any questions or would like to discuss it further.
posted by OmieWise at 5:05 PM on June 7, 2005

I would recommend seeing a therapist as well, especially since most therapists work in groups that have a psychiatrist affiliated, so that they can get you meds/ have you evaluated for meds in conjunction with talk therapy. Most psychiatrists, on the other hand, these days treat the psyche first as something physical (chemical) & only secondarily as something mental, whereas while of course it is both, it is not clear from which direction treatment will be most effective, and it is at least worth trying both.

if you do not get a specific recommendation that suits you, I would keep in mind that one way which makes talk therapy useful is feeling comfortable with the person to whom you're talking, so try to think of what factors might help or hinder in that regard. For instance, do you think you might have trouble taking advice from someone you think you're smarter than? Do you think you'd feel more comfortable with either gender, or a certain age group?

It's not just a question of "better"; some people will be seeking "emotionally available" and some people will be seeking "intellectually insightful" and some will want "honest & challenging" - etc. It may be worth shopping around, and it may even be worth trying the random name your doc's office provides - to some extent it's more about the match between the two of you than the 'quality' of the therapist him or herself.
posted by mdn at 6:38 PM on June 7, 2005

If I was in Denver I would try this place out. I had an opportunity to do a workshop with Steve Andreas (founder) and I am convinced that he would make an excellent therapist (as probably would other trainers affiliated with the center).

I generally agree that therapies/therapists are a very mixed bag. Especially with regard to depression which can turn into many years of "talk therapy" and pain in incompetent hands.
posted by blueyellow at 8:18 PM on June 7, 2005

Boscosmom, go see a psychiatrist, not a therapist. A therapist can be someone with no more training than a masters degree in social work, compared to psychiatrists who have gone to medical school and who more training than any other specialty in medicine. Psychiatrists are not strange, they don't have couches, and nothing even remotely weird happens at your appointment, and you won't even have to take your clothes off!

When my wife and I were getting divorced, my youngest daughter was having trouble in school. I made sure than she saw a psychiatrist, and as I suspected, after one meeting he said she didn't need psychiatric help, just a little time. That is the only therapy she ever had, one evaluation session.

One session with an independent psychiatrist isn't all that expensive. Depression is not something you should fool with, for if left untreated it can lead to worse problems.
posted by phewbertie at 5:32 AM on June 8, 2005