You Just Might Want To Get A Second Opinion When It Comes To Your Mental Health Treatment
By: Susan Scandiffio
Tags: Doctors, Mental Health, Pscyhology, Choices, Psychiatry

Why I moved from professional to professional before I found the answers

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

In my late 20s, a biopsy revealed skin cancer on my nose. My GP sent me to a dermatologist who, she said, was doing some groundbreaking research.

The treatment she offered?

The dermatologist had a new cream which was still in its testing phase but, if I signed off on some government papers, I could get in on this incredible product before it even got to market!

While I might have sent money to a Nigerian prince trying to pull bond money together, even my gullibility radar was sensing that something was wrong with this scenario.

With a little bit of my own research and the opinion of a second dermatologist, I ended up receiving a more traditional treatment and am now cancer-free. (And that cream that was in clinical trials? It never did pass governmental standards.)

Getting a second opinion is never a bad idea.

From a car salesman who gives you “the best deal you’re ever going to find”, to the friend who tells you that bangs are a great idea, second opinions can be invaluable.

In the medical world, patients often ask for second opinions. While some might be worried that they could offend their doctors by asking for the input of another professional, many doctors, in fact, encourage getting a second opinion to give their clients peace of mind, or for them to get more information that they may have inadvertently forgotten to relay.

In the field of mental health, the same principle applies.

Not every person will feel comfortable with, or believe that they are receiving the correct diagnosis or treatment plan from, their doctor, therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.

And that’s a completely valid feeling.

In my own personal mental health journey, I have made the switch from various professionals and was extremely fortunate to have ultimately ended up with someone who gave me the diagnosis which made absolute sense, and whose treatment plan has worked to the point that I haven’t had a period of depression, and very little anxiety, since I became her patient five years ago.

So why did I seek second opinions as a mental health patient?

1) I visited a psychologist who couldn’t make heads or tails of my situation. After approximately 20 sessions with me, she, (and I kid you not), spent two sessions lying on her own couch, telling me about her headaches and bad back. If she couldn’t fix me, perhaps she assumed I could fix her? (Next!)

2) I saw a doctor who, as the dermatologist had, recommended a “miracle cream” that would cure depression. (Exit stage right!)

3) I visited a psychologist with whom I felt a great sense of rapport. We met for several sessions and while we weren’t getting far in terms of a diagnosis or a plan for handling my debilitating depression and anxiety, I felt that she must have the answers. She seemed genuinely caring and extremely intelligent. Until one day, completely out of the blue, she asked, “don’t you think Mother Teresa was soooo ugly?” Think whatever you might about Mother Teresa, but the fact that this professional believed that this was an opinion she could share with a patient was completely inappropriate and irrelevant to my health care. (Sigh … another one bites the dust)

4) My own GP, in whom I had placed so much trust for years and years, switched me from one antidepressant to another when one would keep me “well” for a certain amount of time and would then fizzle out. This prescribing and re-prescribing went on for 19 years with me making the assumption that my GP was all-knowing in the field of mental health. Only when she asked me what medication I thought I should be taking did I realize that she didn’t the knowledge to provide me with the adequate care. While I still kick myself for not coming to this realization earlier, I also feel that she, witnessing my ups and downs, should have referred me elsewhere.

Hence … the need for second opinions.

Or in my case second, third, fourth, and fifth opinions until I found the person with the knowledge about my particular illness. (It turned out that I have Bipolar 2.)

Side note … I actually went back to the lying-on-the-couch psychologist just to inform her of my condition in case she heard similar stories to mine. When I told her of my diagnosis, she said she had never heard of Bipolar 2. Ergo, my decision to move on from her treatment was a sound one.

When you’re in the middle of a mental health struggle, it’s difficult to know if you’re in the right place, with the right practitioner.

But often there’s a gut instinct when you don’t feel a connection to your therapist. A sense that you’re not being heard or understood. A treatment plan or diagnosis that isn’t being well explained. Or a lack of professionalism that makes you uncomfortable.

Please don’t misunderstand. I have the highest regard for those in the mental health field. The large majority are highly intelligent, skilled, caring, and competent.

But, as with every other person you will encounter in life, mental health professionals are human beings with fallibilities. Not everyone in life is going to feel a connection to another. Not everyone is going to get everything right 100% of the time.

And your mental health is too important to leave in the hands of someone with whom you are not comfortable.

So when you have an inkling that you just might need someone else with whom to discuss your feelings, go for it.

Perhaps you’ll return to your first practitioner with a renewed sense of trust. Or perhaps you’ll decide to make the move to another professional.

Whatever you decide, just know that the option to do so is there. Take as many opinions as you need until you feel that you are in the most capable hands and that you are receiving the care that you deserve, and the results you require.