How to Find a Good Psychiatrist

Natasha Tracy is a professional writer and author for and Bipolar Burble. She currently worked as a freelancer for CanadaPharmacyOnline.

SEE ALSO: How to Know When to Change Psychiatrists

But finding the right psychiatrist that can help you and your particular illness is critical for successful treatment and recovery. To find a good psychiatrist that can meet your needs, follow these steps.

1. Narrow down your psychiatrist choices.

You may want to initially narrow down your choices based on insurance coverage and geographical area. If necessary, you can always widen your search later.

2. Decide what is important to you in a psychiatrist.

While competency is always critical, there are other factors like compassion, bedside manner, punctuality, office staff, availability, and others to consider as well. You need to decide what is most important to you and this can guide your research.

3. Get referrals from friends and family.

If your friends and family have experience with psychiatrists, see if they have any recommendations. Often a personal referral holds more weight than other factors.

4. Research the options online.

Many sites specialize in rating doctors and giving you additional information about their practices. However, keep in mind that if the reviewers are not authenticated in any way, reviews may be suspect. Look for sites with the most ratings for the psychiatrists in question for the most reliable information. Sites like this include:

• RateMDs

• HealthGrades

• DrScore.com

You may also find additional sites that are specific to your area.

5. Check to see what each psychiatrist specializes in.

Often psychiatrists primarily treat patients with a certain type of disorder such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and so on. If at all possible, find a psychiatrist that specializes in the area of your illness. This is especially critical if your mental illness is less common such as dissociative identity disorder or if you have specific concerns such as gender identity.

6. Create a shortlist of possibilities.

Once you have researched the available psychiatrists, make a list of who you think would fit you best and then schedule an initial appointment with the most likely.

7. Write a list of questions to ask your potential psychiatrist.

There are many questions you might want to ask any potential psychiatrist. Just because a psychiatrist effectively works with others doesn’t mean that psychiatrist will be a good fit for you. Questions should be designed to determine if your approach to your illness matches the psychiatrist’s approach to the illness. Questions you might want to ask your potential psychiatrist include:

• What is your background and what do you specialize in (if you haven’t been able to find this out in your research)?

• What is your approach to treating my mental illness?

• What are your thoughts on psychotherapy? Do you provide it? What psychotherapies do you recommend?

• What would your proposed treatment plan be for me?

• How do you feel about complimentary treatments and supplements?

• What happens if I have an emergency outside of office hours?

8. Determine if that psychiatrist is right for you.

Only you know if your needs can be met by this doctor. If they can, great, you can get started on an effective, working, therapeutic relationship. If you don’t feel like this psychiatrist will work for you, go back to your list and repeat step seven with the next doctor on the list.

When you’re looking for help it may seem like you have no time to spend on these steps but remember, the relationship you have with your healthcare provider is going to be a huge part of what is going to make you better.

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