Posted by alexandra_k on October 20, 2013, at 0:59:55
In reply to Re: i think..., posted by Dr. Bob on October 19, 2013, at 23:29:42
i guess what i wanted from her was something along the lines of a GAF assessment. I was working under the assumption that she was a clinical psychologist who was qualified in diagnostics.
i think i read that wrong, though, and she isn't a clinical psychologist after all. community mental health does sometimes employ other people (former nurses or crisis team workers or whatever) as counselors. when they really have run out of clinical psychologists... i'm starting to suspect that she may well be one of those... which is why she is more... enamored with the DSM than most... and why she doesn't seem to be conducting any dx assessment like i've ever had before... even though i have in fact been through quite a few of them over the years... and why she does a lot of nodding and smiling and i've been having concerns about whether she understands me (i was assuming graduate level psychology vocabulary and some background in psychodynamics).
accommodation trumps treatment because if i get the accommodation i'll move to a different region so she won't be my clinician anymore.
and dx doesn't make a damn for treatment. says so in the initial blurb of the DSM. and not just the newest one, neither.
i have 2 p-docs who are supporting this. i thought support from a clinical psychologist would be icing on the cake (a panel would be convinced any independent assessment would likely concur). three out of three would have been pretty good evidence in my favor (especially given that they are randomly assigned community mental health practitioners and not private assessments i paid mega-bucks for).
if she isn't qualified in diagnostics (isn't a p-doc or a clinical psychologist) then her opinion doesn't mean a damn, though. i wouldn't have asked her if i'd have known that...
actually... that isn't quite fair. support from her is support from the community. like how it helped (probably) that the social worker came with me last time... that i'm bringing a known advocate (who seems smart and relevant etc) with me this time...
but 'three out of three qualified health professionals agree' was the kind of evidence i was going for.
wanna write a letter?
i jest.
:)
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1051233
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20130930/msgs/1052615.html