I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.. (1 Viewer)

[Boydals]

Hey All

Just some real quick info about myself - 23 years old, currently living in Melbourne(Australia) i'm a reasonably social person, currently working in retail until I'm able to sit UMAT and gain entry into a degree.

Firstly I was diagnosed with schizophrenia & depression in 2008 but only recently discovered its more so a case of PTSD from my childhood. I've self admitted to a mental health ward once as a voluntary patient and again as an involuntary patient, due to certain personal tragedies occurring at times that were quite close together, so ive got an insight into what its like and what goes on.

I've done various other units of study (only diploma level) such as IT/Business etc but are all batshit boring. So i thought to myself: "why not do something that you find interesting, something that makes you happy - something that when you wake up in 50 years time you can be content knowing you've contributed to making the world a better place & better yet, saving lives"

Now the thing is after 1-2 years of initially taking the medication i stopped completely and have done so for 5 years, yes i sometimes feel a little disconnected and depressed BUT my question is this: Would it make sense to take the path of becoming a promoter for clients to take medication in order for them to become neuro-chemically balanced (psychiatry) when I'm more of an advocate of the opposite ie. Talking about things (The psychologist kind of pathway to results)?

Feel free to ask ANY personal questions through inbox or as a reply - I'm very open about everything

 

[Schmeag]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

First of all, welcome to the forum.
Psychiatrists can choose to use psychotherapy, but may not use it as universally as psychologists since they also have drugs. Given that you are more interested in psychotherapy, have you considered psychology instead?
I would exercise caution entering this field due to transference and may cause relapse for you if you are not careful. Your past history may offer unique insights but could present pitfalls for your relationship with your patients/clients.

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

First of all, welcome to the forum.
Psychiatrists can choose to use psychotherapy, but may not use it as universally as psychologists since they also have drugs. Given that you are more interested in psychotherapy, have you considered psychology instead?
I would exercise caution entering this field due to transference and may cause relapse for you if you are not careful. Your past history may offer unique insights but could present pitfalls for your relationship with your patients/clients.

Thank you, I'm happy that I've finally found somewhere to ask these sorts of questions
Yeah I've definitely considered psychology and was accepted to study a bachelor of Social Science (psychology/forensic science) - but I'm tending to lean more towards pursuing psychiatry. I'm sure a lot of shrinks are more than happy to trial their clients on different drugs but I'd like to change the way things are done and as a first line of defense use psychotherapy to try and heal the person & save the drugs as a last line of resort, of course if the person is mentally unstable and there is an immediate need for them to be medicated then by all means i'd be happy to prescribe the required drugs, but in most other cases I'd like to take a different approach in a hope that more would adopt my application.

I'm still on the learning path of psych related definitions, but by 'transference' do you mean that if I had a client that described in detail, how he regularly abuses his wife as the kids tried to helplessly intervene that I would subconsciously be affected and thus THAT being the pitfall of the patient/client relationship?

Thank you so much for your help so far, it really is appreciated

 

[Ethicks]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I would suggest as above but chase doing what you love and enjoy not what pays the best. I assume they would have had you on Lithium?

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I would suggest as above but chase doing what you love and enjoy not what pays the best. I assume they would have had you on Lithium?

Yeah exactly right, thanks for the advice - they had me on Zyprexa 5mg wafers to start off with then scaled it up or down depending on my condition

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

Why did you stop taking your medication? I would think that drugs would extremely help someone with schizophrenia...

Anyway,

I know someone who is currently studying psychology. They LOVE it. They are also studying a bit longer to become a practising psychologist.

Why don't you do that?

If you don't like drugs then you aren't going to like being a doctor / psychiatrist. But maybe you will, who knows, do what you want!

Firstly, I stopped taking my medication because i thoroughly believed that i was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, only to find out 5 years later that i was correct in thinking so. The voices i heard was in-fact more the depression mixed with PTSD.
I could do that yes, BUT i would like to be in the top tier and have the final say in whether someone should be on their medication or not - there are lots of shrinks more than happy to medicate their clients, but i'd like to take a different approach before handing out a prescription.

It's not that i don't like drugs, I just don't support the approach of trialing clients like guinea-pigs after one sitting.

Loving the input so far, thanks all

 

[patpatpat]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

Hey All

Just some real quick info about myself - 23 years old, currently living in Melbourne(Australia) i'm a reasonably social person, currently working in retail until I'm able to sit UMAT and gain entry into a degree.

Firstly I was diagnosed with schizophrenia & depression in 2008 but only recently discovered its more so a case of PTSD from my childhood. I've self admitted to a mental health ward once as a voluntary patient and again as an involuntary patient, due to certain personal tragedies occurring at times that were quite close together, so ive got an insight into what its like and what goes on.

I've done various other units of study (only diploma level) such as IT/Business etc but are all batshit boring. So i thought to myself: "why not do something that you find interesting, something that makes you happy - something that when you wake up in 50 years time you can be content knowing you've contributed to making the world a better place & better yet, saving lives"

Now the thing is after 1-2 years of initially taking the medication i stopped completely and have done so for 5 years, yes i sometimes feel a little disconnected and depressed BUT my question is this: Would it make sense to take the path of becoming a promoter for clients to take medication in order for them to become neuro-chemically balanced (psychiatry) when I'm more of an advocate of the opposite ie. Talking about things (The psychologist kind of pathway to results)?

Feel free to ask ANY personal questions through inbox or as a reply - I'm very open about everything

With the greatest respect, I'm going to say three things.

1. Forget whether you'll like psychiatry, you need to find out if you will enjoy medicine and have the ability and motivation to study a demanding course. Psychiatry will only be taught in a small percentage of the final year, and you will have to do 1-2 years out, which will require ongoing self learning, before you can get onto the training program.

2. If your personal experiences are going to affect your objectivity and cause you to lose sight of evidence based medicine, then you should NEVER enter the field which would be affected. You would be doing your patients an extreme disservice and placing them at a high risk of under-treatment and further harm.

3. The same goes for psychology, given your anti-medication views I would be concerned about whether you would begin advising patients on whether they need to take medication or not, which again would place them at risk of harm and in this case would be even worse because you would have a lot less training.

Also if you are suffering a psychotic depression, then there is a good body of evidence for short-medium term anti-depressant use and that the role of psychotherapy is more limited until someone begins to recover.

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

With the greatest respect, I'm going to say three things.

1. Forget whether you'll like psychiatry, you need to find out if you will enjoy medicine and have the ability and motivation to study a demanding course. Psychiatry will only be taught in a small percentage of the final year, and you will have to do 1-2 years out, which will require ongoing self learning, before you can get onto the training program.

2. If your personal experiences are going to affect your objectivity and cause you to lose sight of evidence based medicine, then you should NEVER enter the field which would be affected. You would be doing your patients an extreme disservice and placing them at a high risk of under-treatment and further harm.

3. The same goes for psychology, given your anti-medication views I would be concerned about whether you would begin advising patients on whether they need to take medication or not, which again would place them at risk of harm and in this case would be even worse because you would have a lot less training.

Also if you are suffering a psychotic depression, then there is a good body of evidence for short-medium term anti-depressant use and that the role of psychotherapy is more limited until someone begins to recover.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to open another 3rd person insight - its appreciated
I've come to terms with the entire duration of study being more or less a decade of commitment, so that's okay. Where should i go from here in terms of whether or not I will/will not enjoy medicine? If books are a good starting point would you be able to recommend a few?

I do agree with most of whats said, although i'll have to point out that i don't believe i'm anti-medicine, but more so the trialing of prescription drugs that are a result of a misdiagnoses. Obviously I'm taking a page out of my own book in saying that (which is why i rally so strongly against it) - I just cant help but think that if i had a good amount of psychotherapy beforehand that I'd of been better off. Although i have to stress, that If someone needs to be medicated then i am more than happy and willing to take the steps in doing so, I think its completely wrong to withhold someone to their happiness, well-being and life.

@patpatpat - thanks again, i really do love talking about this

 

[buriza]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to open another 3rd person insight - its appreciated
I've come to terms with the entire duration of study being more or less a decade of commitment, so that's okay. Where should i go from here in terms of whether or not I will/will not enjoy medicine? If books are a good starting point would you be able to recommend a few?

I do agree with most of whats said, although i'll have to point out that i don't believe i'm anti-medicine, but more so the trialing of prescription drugs that are a result of a misdiagnoses. Obviously I'm taking a page out of my own book in saying that (which is why i rally so strongly against it) - I just cant help but think that if i had a good amount of psychotherapy beforehand that I'd of been better off. Although i have to stress, that If someone needs to be medicated then i am more than happy and willing to take the steps in doing so, I think its completely wrong to withhold someone to their happiness, well-being and life.

@patpatpat - thanks again, i really do love talking about this

I agree with a lot of what patpatpat has said - particularly his points on being motivated and professional when it comes to a career in psychology or psychiatry. Psychology and psychiatry are both demanding in the dedication that they require and I would suggest that you think about more which one you will prefer to do as it was a question posed in your first post. Of course, as I am sure you know, there is a differentiation between psychiatry and psychology in that psychiatry is more medicine-based and psychiatrists are allowed to administer drugs.

It sounds to me that you may be more suited to being a psychologist, but ultimately it is up to you because it could also be argued that you are more driven to being a psychiatrist due to your experiences. I do apologise for your misdiagnosis, since schizophrenia and depression are quite serious misdiagnoses, especially given the neurological nature behind how schizophrenia operates. Upon reading more it seems you are leaning towards being a psychiatrist so you can encourage psychotherapy be utilised first, but you can do this as a psychologist as well, since (as far as I am aware) if medication ends up being required, they are to refer to a psychiatrist.

Anyway, like patpatpat said, you may need to consider further if your condition will affect your ability to be professional in the required situations. If you do have utmost confidence that this is the case, then you can start to contemplate whether you prefer being a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Once that has been answered, then obviously you will have to find ways of receiving the required qualifications and finding out if you are suited to the occupation. Unfortunately, there probably is no real way of determining whether or not you are going to enjoy a certain course unless you do it. I was never really sure if I was going to enjoy doing psychology - it was more something I had to do and regardless was something I was probably going to end up enjoying due to my goal.

Hopefully this has been somewhat helpful in the discussion, I am relatively new and inexperienced to the field of psychology, so I don't know the helpfulness of what I have said.

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I agree with a lot of what patpatpat has said - particularly his points on being motivated and professional when it comes to a career in psychology or psychiatry. Psychology and psychiatry are both demanding in the dedication that they require and I would suggest that you think about more which one you will prefer to do as it was a question posed in your first post. Of course, as I am sure you know, there is a differentiation between psychiatry and psychology in that psychiatry is more medicine-based and psychiatrists are allowed to administer drugs.

It sounds to me that you may be more suited to being a psychologist, but ultimately it is up to you because it could also be argued that you are more driven to being a psychiatrist due to your experiences. I do apologise for your misdiagnosis, since schizophrenia and depression are quite serious misdiagnoses, especially given the neurological nature behind how schizophrenia operates. Upon reading more it seems you are leaning towards being a psychiatrist so you can encourage psychotherapy be utilised first, but you can do this as a psychologist as well, since (as far as I am aware) if medication ends up being required, they are to refer to a psychiatrist.

Anyway, like patpatpat said, you may need to consider further if your condition will affect your ability to be professional in the required situations. If you do have utmost confidence that this is the case, then you can start to contemplate whether you prefer being a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Once that has been answered, then obviously you will have to find ways of receiving the required qualifications and finding out if you are suited to the occupation. Unfortunately, there probably is no real way of determining whether or not you are going to enjoy a certain course unless you do it. I was never really sure if I was going to enjoy doing psychology - it was more something I had to do and regardless was something I was probably going to end up enjoying due to my goal.

Hopefully this has been somewhat helpful in the discussion, I am relatively new and inexperienced to the field of psychology, so I don't know the helpfulness of what I have said.

I really couldn't have asked for a better response in reply to my last comment, so thank you very much for that - Agreed, I do need to take the time to continue thinking about this & although psychiatry is the path i'd like to take it doesn't hurt to have an open mind. I've asked a few people the same question but would you mind recommending some good reads?
Thanking you regardless @buriza

 

[buriza]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I really couldn't have asked for a better response in reply to my last comment, so thank you very much for that - Agreed, I do need to take the time to continue thinking about this & although psychiatry is the path i'd like to take it doesn't hurt to have an open mind. I've asked a few people the same question but would you mind recommending some good reads?
Thanking you regardless @buriza

It depends on what you're interested in - if you want to look in some specific areas of psychology, you could always just look things up in Google Scholar because articles can actually be pretty informative on various things. It's always good I think to look at papers from influential psychologists like Skinner, Freud, Piaget and Bandura just to name a few if you're curious about different approaches in psychology. There's also the option to subscribe to the APS once you have started a degree in psychology. psychologytoday.com is also alright to have a look at if you want. I can't really think of any specific readings to recommend, so I hope that gave some idea into how you might find some things to read.

 

[Schmeag]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I should preclude my posts with the advice that you should discuss this with your treating therapist if you haven't already since they know you well.
The pitfalls I mention can be both to you and your client. By transference, I mean the transmission of feelings from your client to yourself and vice versa through countertransference which can be normal. However, it could be difficult to deal with intense feelings for prolonged periods of time and will affect your (or or any therapist's) relationship with your patients and the professional boundaries of your relationship in some way. There has been a recent spate of suicides amongst psychiatry trainees, and while this is not limited to that profession, it's worth taking note of. Management strategies to deal with any adverse effects is key. In this way, I disagree with patpatpat in that you shouldn't necessarily exclude psychiatry/psychology altogether, but rather be vigilant, analytical and insightful into your own perspective and limitations, and to be in regular contact with your treating team. patpatpat makes a number of salient points, particularly that you have to do a full degree and a year or so of working in other fields of medicine before you can specialise in psychiatry.

Whether or not you enjoy medicine could be difficult to get from books. While I have never read any books about experiences in medicine, I am told by many of my colleagues that House of God resonates quite closely with them. Suffice to say, studying medicine is different from other degrees, and working in medicine is different from studying it.

The DSM-V is worth having a look at, if you're interested in psychiatry. Yet despite the apparent rigidity of the DSM, I do find the field to be very subjective. You might find that you enjoy child and adolescent psychiatry, where they seem to prefer psychotherapy over psychotropics.

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

It depends on what you're interested in - if you want to look in some specific areas of psychology, you could always just look things up in Google Scholar because articles can actually be pretty informative on various things. It's always good I think to look at papers from influential psychologists like Skinner, Freud, Piaget and Bandura just to name a few if you're curious about different approaches in psychology. There's also the option to subscribe to the APS once you have started a degree in psychology. psychologytoday.com is also alright to have a look at if you want. I can't really think of any specific readings to recommend, so I hope that gave some idea into how you might find some things to read.

Thanks for all of your help, its appreciated @buriza

 

[Boydals]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

I should preclude my posts with the advice that you should discuss this with your treating therapist if you haven't already since they know you well.
The pitfalls I mention can be both to you and your client. By transference, I mean the transmission of feelings from your client to yourself and vice versa through countertransference which can be normal. However, it could be difficult to deal with intense feelings for prolonged periods of time and will affect your (or or any therapist's) relationship with your patients and the professional boundaries of your relationship in some way. There has been a recent spate of suicides amongst psychiatry trainees, and while this is not limited to that profession, it's worth taking note of. Management strategies to deal with any adverse effects is key. In this way, I disagree with patpatpat in that you shouldn't necessarily exclude psychiatry/psychology altogether, but rather be vigilant, analytical and insightful into your own perspective and limitations, and to be in regular contact with your treating team. patpatpat makes a number of salient points, particularly that you have to do a full degree and a year or so of working in other fields of medicine before you can specialise in psychiatry.

Whether or not you enjoy medicine could be difficult to get from books. While I have never read any books about experiences in medicine, I am told by many of my colleagues that House of God resonates quite closely with them. Suffice to say, studying medicine is different from other degrees, and working in medicine is different from studying it.

The DSM-V is worth having a look at, if you're interested in psychiatry. Yet despite the apparent rigidity of the DSM, I do find the field to be very subjective. You might find that you enjoy child and adolescent psychiatry, where they seem to prefer psychotherapy over psychotropics.

Thanks for explaining that in more detail, as you're probably aware the psych definitions are still fresh to me- I'll take a break from the this thread and continue to pursue others

And thanks again for your open-mindedness throughout the discussion and your patients throughout your delivery, I'll take a look at the DSM-V in more detail in the coming weeks and ill get back to you on my progress, if you don't mind?

Take care

-Boyd

 

[Schmeag]

Re: I want to be a Psychiatrist, or do I? I've had somewhat of a roller-coaster life.

That's fine. I'm not an expert in psychiatry either. Feel free to PM me. Word of warning--the DSM is a bit dry. I forgot to add that it could be worth reading Dibs in Search of Self, a book I came across before I entered medicine. It's definitely significantly more inspiring than the DSM, but focuses more on counselling.