Can psychiatrists treat patients without having to use drugs?
I know psychiatrists are able to prescribe drugs to patients and I wanted to know if they are able to treat patients in other ways besides drugs yet still keep this ability? #psychiatry
2 answers
Jennifer’s Answer
Yes! In short, the answer is yes. There is a movement in the field of mental health away from psychotropics and toward a relational therapy model. If you opted to be a non-prescribing psychiatrist you would be in good company. Keep in mind that psychiatrists are medical Drs and their training is on the brain, medicine and the biomedical model; so if you wanted to supplement your practice with therapy you'd need to seek that training. Psychiatrists are no longer trained in that art. Some psychiatrists are now making their living by managing psychotropic titration and detox as there is now consumer demand for these services. It gives me hope that the next generation of mental health workers are asking these questions, so thank you!
There is a very well respected, non-diagnosing, non-medicating psychiatrist in the field...his name is Dr. Bruce Perry. You should check his work out:
http://childtrauma.org
Susan Delphine’s Answer
We are able to diagnose CHEMICAL IMBALANCES in patients and prescribe drugs to fix those.
I personally also work with nutrition and in the spiritual realm, according to the patient's own faith tradition.
Psychoanalysts are psychiatrists who have taken four or more additional years of training beyond the residency.
I work with patients who are anti-drug, but I know that one day they will accept drugs.
If you are super anti-medication, you might consider becoming a psychologist, a non-medical profession. Psychologists can become psychoanalysts now.