My partner's psychiatrist does not say anyhting, is this normal?

Question

My partner suffers from depression and for over a year now has been attending sessions on a weekly basis with a phsychiatrist. The guy hardly ever speaks and only rarely says anything. Is this normal? how can my partner "learn" to get over the depression if not given guidance.

Answer 1

It's hard to answer your question because there's a few things that I don't understand about your question. For example, are you sure your partner's seeing a psychiatrist? Because in general you only see a psychiatrist if your treatment is going to include meds.

If he's seeing a psychologist/social worker/therapist/whoever there are some forms of therapy where the client does pretty much all the talking and the therapist says practically nothing. But it's hard for me to say if that's the type of therapy your partner's getting because I'm getting the info from you and not your partner.

But if that is the kind of therapy your partner is getting... in general that's not a popular form of therapy for a person who is depressed. In fact it's the least popular form of therapy for a person who is depressed. Depressed people need a more cognitive-behavioral approach. That would involve a lot more talking than what you're describing. Your partner would still talk more than the therapist, but there would be more of a conversation going on.

But no matter what kind of therapy is it, if your partner feels that there has been no improvement in the past year that is definitely cause for concern. Your partner is the customer. If they're not getting what they need from this therapist they need to speak up. Talk with the therapist. And if it can't be resolved with this therapist then there's no problem with finding a new one.

Answer 2

It is just one school of counseling were the counselor says nothing in an effort to get the client to lead the session and work through the problems on their own with little to no interference on the part of the counselor who is only there only to listen (It's called Psycho-analytical). It can be very effective to treat situational depression in that it lets the person vent and come to their own conclusions when guided slightly (very slightly) by the counselor. Based mostly on the fact that the person will believe and or except it more readily if they come to it on their own.

Answer 3

Like someone said, are you sure it's a psychiatrist he's seeing? If it is then it's not up to him to teach your partner how to get over the depression. Psychiatrists are doctors and specialise in the treatment of mental illness in terms of medication, hospitalisation and referalls to psychologists. They are also generally leading the rest of a care team (often including cpn's, social workers, GP's and therapists).
It maye also be that your partner is unwilling to share what goes on in his sessions with you (no offence meant) so tells you that his psych hasn't said much. I certainly used to tell my family that.

Answer 4

I used to see shrinks and swore they took a course in giving a psychiatric stare. It is an incredible waste of time and money. I believe your partner should seek another practictioner, one who uses cognitive therapy. It seems to me to have a much better record of helping people. If your partner hasn't been drugged up by the shrink, it is a miracle. They should run for their life before they are. They should avoid accepting drugs. It is important for all of us (especially those with mental/emotional problems) to look after our health. You need to be strong to handle stress. You need to eat right - not pizza, cokes, etc. You need to eat vegetables mostly and meat, and fruit and stay away from crap foods like chips, cookies, etc. These medical "helpers" just drug you up and you will be on the start of a trip to hell. Anyone on any of these drugs who wants to get off must not cut by more than 5% to 10% at a time and wait 3 weeks between cuts (more if not feeling stable) - they have terrible side effects including depression (yes depression is a SIDE EFFECT of cutting these drugs too fast) that can last for years if the reduction is done too fast. I believe this epidemic of mental illness we see in our country today is a result of physical causes - I term it SOMATICPSYCHO and must be addressed by getting to the root cause. First we all need more omega 3 to offset all the 6 we get. Then take a whole food supplement like Alive! or Garden of Life and start trying to find what works for you.

Answer 5

That is indeed one particular style of therapy. If your partner doesn't feel like it's working, he or she should change therapists. It's not like there was a shortage of them. There a dozens of different "schools" of therapy. On the first consult with a potential new therapist, you partner needs to be very explicit about what wasn't working for them with the previous therapist. If your partner wants more interaction, he or she needs to say so.

Answer 6

no it's not normal, she should look for a sympathetic, kind, caring psychiatrist that lisyens to her & she feels she's being understood! otherwise, one might as well talk to the walls!
(in UK, you can have CBT (cognitive behavioural therpay) on the NHS but there's a waiting list.This therpay has been proved very helpful.

Answer 7

if it's not helping your partner a therapist with a more cognitive behavioural approach might be better, they challenge the thought processes that lead to negative thoughts. it might be that it helps just to talk without interruption though - it's really his call x

Answer 8

not all doctors are good doctors. sounds like your partner needs a second opinion

Answer 9

ive been seeing my psych for a year in jan and she talks loads we both chat all session

Answer 10

how do you know this if he told you is he telling you the truth? and its normal to talk whist your phys guy listens to find out what you think ect