Any chance you could answer some questions? I'll get to them after a couple of (relevant) anecdotes.
I was diagnosed with depression by a psychologist. I got a referral to a psychiatrist, and I was told that the psychiatrist would probably want to do his own assessment of where I was at & what kind of therapy would best benefit me.
Nope. It was, "You've got such & such diagnosis; let's try such & such drug. Bye!" Some years later, I was treated by another psychiatrist. Same deal.
Second, I've read a fair amount about various psychoactive drugs. One thing I've noted in the literature is that often drugs are only found to be effective when used in combination with other kinds of therapy: counseling, etc. So if I am taking a psychoactive drug regularly to treat some condition, then I always get regular counseling for that condition as well.
I have mentioned this practice of mine to both psychiatrists, and both indicated their approval. But in both cases, counseling was never mentioned until I brought it up. I'm thinking that, if I were a psychiatrist, then I might insist that my patients get regular counseling in addition to my treatment. To avoid even recommending it strikes me (in my highly inexpert opinion) as an awful practice, possibly rendering psychiatric treatment ineffective. One might even call it a violation of professional ethics.
So, my questions.
1. Would you say my experiences related above are typical?
2. Would you say that these experiences point out problems (with the two psychiatrists at least, and with the profession as a whole, if the answer to #1 is "yes")?
3. If these are problems, then what do we do about them?