Why is it that the so called professionals really don't know what is going on inside someones head?

Question

It might just be me but the doctors and health professions in the mental health system just don't seem to get it. My daughter has suffered mental problems for 8 years now and everyone just wants to pass the buck and each person has a different idea on how to treat her problems. There doesn't seem to be a mainstream policy regarding this.... Is it just me or don't the professionals really understand all aspects and being with someone 24/7/365, trying to cope with the odd piece of information and suggestions on how to cope.

Answer 1

First of all, no they don't know what is going on inside someones head. While there have been many large gains in the past several years, the exact functioning of the human brain remains a mystery to a large degree.

Second, much of the time there are different approaches to treating the same problem in different people. This is due in part to the fact that each person is different and each person responds differently to each different treatment. Each person also responds differently to the same problem. AND, two different people may have the same problem but to different degrees.

Third the communication skills of the patient/doctor plays an important part in the problem. If a patient cannot properly express his/her symptoms and/or understand the doctors instructions or questions, it is difficult to make headway. This also applies in reverse.

There are simply too many variables in each individuals chemical and physical make-up, ability to express/understand, the disorder, the degree to which the disorder affects the patient, and how the patient responds to medicine and/or therapy. There is not, and can not be, a one size fits all type of treatment plan.

It is difficult, I know, I am bipolar. It can take many, many years to find the combination of doctors, medications, and/or therapies that work best for one person. Please hang in there. Don't give-up. To do so is to give-up on your daughter.

Sincerely,
Terry

Answer 2

Patients tend to think that the medical profession is a cookbook that has recipes and solutions for everything. This is not true, there are -depending on the condition- several ways to address one same problem. Some problems are pretty straight forward, like a bacterial infection that is almost always controlled with antibiotics. But some problems are very complicated and either there is no cure and you can only offer some relief with current treatments, or there is probably cure that hasn't been found yet. I understand that you might be very frustrated expecting to find a "cure" to your daughter's problems. Mental problems are extremely hard to treat and honestly, most of them can be only partially controlled but are never cured. There will be times when your daughter is ok and times when she is not. Talk to your doctor about what to expect regarding your daughter's diagnosis (if one has been reached already), so that you don't have "unrealistic expectations".

I don't know what your daughter's diagnosis is, but I'll give you an example of my daily practice, probably it might help you. I constantly see patients with psoriasis which is a skin condition with very ugly lesions that are visible all over in the body. There is NO cure for psoriasis. I can only give medications and creams that will at times clear off the lesions for some time (sometimes months to years), but eventually the lesions come back on and off. I make sure that my patients understand this, so that they don't expect that they will be cured, or that once the lesions clear they won't come again. I always tell them that they will have to learn to live with the condition. I have found that by being honest from the start about real expectations (in difficult to treat conditions) patients tend to be compliant with their treatments and are more satisfied with their care. Bad communication between doctors and patients is usually the source of many frustrations.

Ah, and there are always patients that want to put the burden of their diseases on their doctors and don't want to understand that there are no better options. These patients tendo to talk badly about their doctors, and don't want to understands that medical science is not magic.

Hope it helps.

Answer 3

Like any other profession there is alot of bureaucratic red tape that hinders their job performance. Alot of people in this line of work get burned out and go through the motions-sad .
Like every other profession some people are better at it than others but they still have the job.
I would keep looking until I found the RIGHT doctor. Keep in mind that there is no exact science to mental health care. Its come along way but its a field that is just really opening up.

Answer 4

Well there isn't ever one simple answer to every question. Psychology hasn't really figured out anything for sure it's mostly just guessing and what worked for this person might work for another. Since each person is different it's hard to tell what causes their specific mental health problem. The brain is a complicated thing.

Answer 5

the key is in the 24/7/365... the person who is suffering is the real expert on themselves... the people they live with a close to the same... a doc who spends even an hour with a patient a week has no real clue... docs often see us at our worse and then pathologize everything they see...they may not know the right questions to ask but the person who is living it can answer the right questions and perhaps gain insight into how to help themselves... someone who cares enough to figure out what questions need to be asked would be a helpful guide through this forest of suffering...

so often the feeling of being different or at odds with reality can be even more frightening than the symptoms of the diagnosis (which often, as you have seen, are rarely on the money)...

by the time my littlest kiddle was 13, she'd amassed 5 Axis I diagnoses (by 4 different docs in the space of 72 hours during her first psychiatric inpatient experience) and placed on 5 different meds which produced 5 different sets of side effects.... the cure was clearly worse than the disease

while I acknowledge that she was struggling big time, the 30 days in the hospital certainly didn't help move things forward in a positive direction

so I learned the art of motivational interviewing... I learned how to ask the questions that could lead her to a better understanding of herself.... I got training in recovery and rehabilitation... no school degrees... most of these trainings were sponsored with gov't funds or offered by peer providers (people with mental health diagnoses who work/volunteer their services to share the lived experience with someone who is experiencing distress or whatever)

there are also many workbooks on line to direct the flow of thought in a direction that can gain ya'all some insight into the issue (many on my machine at work but if you are interested, email me and I will do my best to help you out)

work with her strengths... work with what is right, the focus shouldn't be on what is wrong.... be her cheerleader, her mentor... a little out of our conventional roles but it creates a bond that is strong and it will intensify her belief that you will always be there for her.... positive energy on your part can hold the flame of hope for her when her spirits sag

if your daughter is of an age where she can take on this learning by herself, you might help out by starting her off with the link below... all sorts of support and practical tips and tools, information

if she is a youngun, you could take on this task

most docs address symptoms, not the whole person in the context of their life. They look at what's wrong with you, not how to use what's right to shore up the structure... yes, docs come in handy but how much handier would it be if you could walk in there with something more than behaviors to address. help the doc help you/her.

best of luck to you and your daughter

Answer 6

would you want someone to know everything that is going on in your head? all mental health care professionals can do, just like other doctors, is to observe the symptoms and work from there.