Pschologist or Psychiatrist in Columbus, O?

March 25, 2008 7:46 PM

Anyone know a good psychologist or psychiatrist in Columbus, O? In fact, which might be better?

Dealing with some anxiety and OCD. Had a bout of this in college, concerns about sexuality and some of the other very typical OCD worries. I managed, with little knowledge of this stuff, to get over it, although only after a busparin prescription calmed me down a little. No therapy really, to speak of, just the prescription from school psychiatrist. Anway, it has returned lately. In a wonderful relationship heading toward marriage, and low and behold, relationship substantiation OCD kicks in. It sucks. i'm thinking of starting with a psychologist, don't want to take drugs if i don't have to. I'm a little scared though, I want someone good. Anyone know of anyone in Columbus, ohio?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (4 comments total)

Don't know anyone in Ohio, but -- Psychologist is what you need first. Psychiatrists don't really help your mental state, they just drug you up so the psychologist can talk you out of the wet paper bag you've found yourself in.

If you have an Internal Medicine or General Practitioner that you see a lot, they can generally refer you to someone they know in the area who is good. That's how I found my psychologist and psychiatrist, and they are both the best I have ever met. Way better than picking someone from a hat. Plus, they usually know who will take your insurance and can help you get an appointment if the person is hard to get in to see.
posted by SpecialK at 8:24 PM on March 25, 2008

I had a very negative experience with a psychiatrist in Columbus, OH. Feel free to email me for his name so he can be avoided.
posted by rglass at 8:39 PM on March 25, 2008

I would choose a psychiatrist, and explain your symptoms and desire to not use drugs. They should be able to assess the root cause of the problem and give their opinion as to the best course of action.

I don't consider the psychiatrist/psychologist to be an either or proposition. One is a doctor of medicine specializing on the brain and it's functions, the other is a therapist who helps the patient understand their thought processes. There is a lot of overlap, but it does come down to a sort of hardware versus software kind of thing.
posted by gjc at 7:42 AM on March 26, 2008

First of all: I am not a licensed, practicing psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, etc. I am not in the medical field, I don't have any related degrees, I'm not qualified to give you real advice on this subject. This is wholly my personal opinion.

If I was going to give you any advice to start with, it would be to go see several professionals before you picked one--find one that you feel comfortable with and can develop a trusting relationship with.

Secondly, while I'm not at all in bed with the scientologists disturbingly I find myself agreeing with the notion that for the most part, drugs should be avoided for people in terms of dealing with mental issues, and I don't really like psychiatry as a discipline. I think that, for people suffering from abnormal psychology, some of these meds are necessary (if still overprescribed), but for most folks, the first attempt should be to address issues through therapy (er, that's where I differ with the scientologists, that is, I think plugging yourself into a pseudo-scientific device to assess your "thetan count" or whatever is complete bullshit. Psychiatry at least has a scientific basis...).

I'm biased because I've been in (very helpful) therapy for about three years now. I'm also biased because I worked for a short time in a mental hospital and saw up close how certain psychiatrists were treating mental patients (very little communication, lotsa drugs). So, I've got the double whammy of seeing a good therapist (I truly feel a lot better after all this time) and observing a lot of shitty psychiatrists. Certainly there must be bad therapists and good psychiatrists. However, I believe that, first and foremost, it is worthwhile to dig into your issues first and discuss them, and only secondarily to medicate, if absolutely necessary (acute loss of ability to function within reality without meds). Towards this end, I suggest finding a good therapist. Ask around, see who people trust in your area, try a few different people until you get a good fit--it might take a little time. But give it a shot before you go the drug route. It may be the case that your issues will be resolved or (more likely) mitigated through therapy, and perhaps more importantly, it might be the case that they will just come back over and over if you try to medicate without investigating the underlying issues.

YMMV. Again, I'm not a professional, this is just my personal experience. Good luck.
posted by dubitable at 7:04 AM on March 27, 2008