Why do even psychologists/psychiatrists seem like they don't care, and are only out for money?

Question

I know it's a business, but when all else fails, and you really need care, support, and advice that seems genuine, you go to a psychiatrist or psychologist, short of being admitted, if that's how bad it gets, and yet when I went to visit these people, I've had to search for months to get the right one because they just weren't measuring up.

Most give you typical Psych101 babble that you could have picked up in a psychology course anyday, and they don't empathize in anyway. They just look at their clock, and tell you how many more minutes you have and that's that. It's disappointing and ridiculous.

Is this how it is, or are they just bad examples of doctors?

It's hard to even find a good regular doctor or a specialist.

So many seem to just be business oriented or have other agendas.

I'm sorry but it's disguisting. If you're going to USE people, and not care about them, it's blatantly obvious to those of us like me who are mature to see through it.

For shame.

Answer 1

Mental health professionals are not paid to hang out with you at the mall, go to parties with you, and help you clean up your room. They are not paid to be your friend. This, of course, does not mean they don't care about you as a person or your current plight.

Mental health professionals are paid to provide a service. They are not singular profession who should not be paid for their services. That service is to provide expert guidance to people with psychological conditions.

Unlike a friend, that may involve telling you things you don't really want to hear. Unlike a friend, that may involve encouraging you to do things you don't really want to do. Unlike a friend, they get paid for it.

These folks have spent MANY years in school. They pay overhead for office space, personnel, continuing education, malpractice insurance and other considerable expenses unseen by the client who comes in for 50 minutes a week for a session. They earned their respective licenses and degrees, and certainly deserve to be compensated for them like any other businessperson providing a voluntary service to the public.

You pay for a service. You receive the service. Period. There is no "using" of people here.

In addition, many mental health professionals do, indeed, care a great deal for their clients. In fact, it is the rare practitioner who has developed such a calloused attitude that he or she no longer has much compassion for the patients he/she is treating.

Answer 2

I can only speak to my experience in Canada. Most psychologists are certainly not in it for the money. With the amount of training and years of education required, you would be foolish to go into psychology for that reason. You could make a whole lot more money as a lawyer, an engineer, a dentist, etc.

However, psychologists in private practice do operate on a fee for service basis. So they do keep track of the time as they likely have another patient waiting. You might have a different experience seeing someone through a publicly funded mental health service. There, psychologists and other mental health workers are paid a salary - their wage is not determined by the number of clients they see. Still, they are very busy, and also almost always have people waiting for their service.

I hope that after months of searching you found someone you could work with. A good psychologist can be extremely helpful - and by good I mean someone who is a good fit for you and the problems you bring with you. For most, it is a calling - a genuine and sincere desire to help others. But, as with any profession, there will be those whose motivations are skewed.

All the best to you.

Answer 3

I'm truly sorry that you have had these disappointing encounters. Not everyone is uncaring, hence this reply from a professional in the field.
It is true that many times you have to search for a "proper fit," but since therapy is an intimate relationship it behooves you to find the right person to share your utmost personal feelings with.
Not all therapists are psychiatrists or psychologists, in reality they are social workers. Many times you can find someone genuine through "word of mouth." However, if you are, at any time, uncomfortable with your therapist, it is your right & responsibility to tell them how you feel. Your feelings may be indicative of what is called "transference." This is when the therapist takes the place of someone in your life, who makes you unhappy or you may be fearful of, & this manifests itself into discomfort. Of course, this is on a subconscious level, so if you are feeling disappointed with your therapist, you need to express your thoughts. Also, you may have the opposite feelings, & experience a strong attachment to your therapist. This is also transference. That is why you hear of so many patients/clients falling in love with their therapists.
No matter what the experience, please discuss what you are feeling during your session. I cannot make any guarantees, but I do strongly feel that informing your therapist should help the relationship. That' why it's called "talk therapy."
Good Luck.
Phyllis G.

Answer 4

First, I hope you understand the difference between psychologists and psychiatrists. A psychiatrist is an actual medical doctor, licenced to practice medicine, who specializes in mental disorders. He or she is, first and foremost, an MD.

Whereas a psychologist, more likely than not, has a PhD. in psychology. They are not, nor can they legally claim they are, medical doctors.

It is hard to imagine a man or woman becoming a psychiatrist and spending one-third of their whole life in school to become one, doing so just for the money. Psychiatrists don’t become psychiatrists for the money.

You're speaking from a specific personal experience, which is understandable and normal enough. But your personal experiences can not possibly reflect everyone else's personal experiences. But judging the world through just personal experiences more often than not leads to assumptions not based on fair data.

The experiences you’ve had can not possibly reflect the experiences of the tens of thousands of other people who have gone to and sought out the help of the thousands of psychiatrists and psychologists across the country.

An example: The VA Hospitals in both Los Angeles and Van Nuys (as well as across the country) have staff psychiatrists and psychologists who could easily make a lot more money in private practice or by working for some large HMO. Instead, they chose to work for the Veterans Administration to help rehabilitate vets. They do so out of a love for their country and a desire to help their fellow men and women who have served their country.

An example: Psychiatrists working for state services could easily make much more money working in private practice for hospitals. They chose to work for the state or for a local city government out of a desire to help the needy, the aging, the poor. They chose to offer help to those who would not otherwise be able to get help.

An Example: Psychologists who work as councilors to help runaway children or rape victims do so out of a strong desire to actually help others. And often did so or do so without pay or with a small amount of pay.

You think they all do it for the money? My friend, when I was working for the state years ago there were state paid truck drivers making more than I was. I wasn't doing it for the money.

Redneck example: The Ford Truck is the best selling truck in the world and has been for the past twenty years. It is the best selling truck in the world for a reason. For the price it’s a damn good truck. But the law of averages say every once awhile you’ll come across a lemon. Just because someone is unfortunate to buy one of those lemons doesn’t mean that all Ford Trucks are bad.

Answer 5

I am a therapist...have multiple degrees and will never pay off my student loans because I have never found a way to make money off the misery of others...but let me say this...some of the best work with the truly down and outers...we find that there is less entitlement issues and more willingness for self help...In the larger scope of things it is the person seeking help who has the greater responsibility for healing and it the obligation of the person seeking help to cooperate in that effort...sometimes projecting the inability to proceed or become healthier is easier than accepting the fact that dis-ease is worn like a much loved garment and used as an excuse to not go forward with life...

Answer 6

I wholheartedly agree!!! I have been down that same road and it took several years and several tries to find THE right one. I guess if you are serious, just don't give up. Mine is an old man. I pre guessed I had a system worn Dr. that was marking time. Boy was I wrong. He studied me. Asked relevent questions that I had not been asked before. And diagnosed me, Then prescribe the RIGHT combination of medication to help me. For the first time in too many years I am a functioning, thinking, laughing, living human being. Don't give up.

Answer 7

Well, you won't get empathy out of a shrink. Think about it from their point of view: imagine empathising with miserable people all day every day. It would wear them out in a month. I was raised by two mental helath professionals and they were so well-protected that I never had any emotional connection with either parent, nor they with each other. As for psyche101 babble, well...just remember that most people are stupid. This applies to doctors, too. Last point: psychaitrists generally don't know diddly about the mind. All they know is a set of formulae, a set of stereotypes of various arbitrarily delineated "illnesses". Your misfortune probably stems from the fact that you don't fit neatly into any of their little pigeonholes and therefore they are constantly throwing simpleminded "solutions" at you that in no way relate to your problems. Psychaitry only works for stupid people or people who are too weak to look in a mirror and self-assess. Yer on your own. Good luck.