Recovering from a psychiatric disorder
is something that may not happen without
an expert to help you. While
professionals with extensive training
abound, it is not just the academic
proficiency and experience you must
consider.
Your criteria in finding the
right match for you or a loved one have
to include the special qualities of the
professional, which can help improve the
patient’s motivation to comply to
medications and the determination to get
better.
If you are to choose a psychiatrist or a
psychiatric nurse practitioner, what
qualities must you look for? What
qualities define a good psychiatrist or
a psychiatric nurse practitioner?
The right one…
1. Takes a genuine
interest in you. This is
manifested by spending enough time with
you,by asking well-thought questions,
listening to your answers and conveying
concern over how you are faring.
These are important to intelligently
assess your progress and to make the
necessary decisions related to your
treatment plan and medication
management.
2. Exudes confidence
and optimism. You need a
professional who is hopeful there is a
right approach and treatment plan to
make you feel better. you need
someone who is confident you'll be
bouncing back soon enough, and that with
cooperation, you'll soon be socially
reintegrated and functioning well to
live a normal life.
3. Gives you and your
needs importance. It
means the office returning your calls
and being right there at the appointed
time. It means accommodating you
when you can't wait until your next
appointment. A good practitioner
would go out of his/her way to see and
help you.
4. Respects your
feelings and diplomatically/patiently
explains matters. Someone
who really cares about you will respect
how you feel. If your perceptions,
however, will run counter to your
treatment plan, your practitioner is
expected to explain matters to you or
those who can help you deicde, so your
treatment plan continues.
5. A personality that
is empathic and can encourage trust.
Because people with
psychiatric issues will have lots of
insecurities, angst and anxietyies,
opening up is not easy. A
psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse
practitioner needs to have that winning
personality to gain the trust necessary
in the patient-caregiver relationship.
6. Maintains
progressive attitude about conferring
with other professionals.
The really good ones are self-effacing.
A good one owuld put your welfare at the
top of the concerns and priorities.
Proactive practitioner will even be
willing to confer or work with other
professionals to better help you,
particularly when the going gets tougher
than usual.
7. Updated with new
trends and practices in psychiatric
medicine. A good
practitioner is well versed with the
most appropriate medications to
prescribe and the adverse side effects
to monitor. Being congnizant that
such side effects can sometimes outweigh
potential benefits is necessary to stop
the medication and to sue addictive
drugs with caution.
These seven qualities define a good
psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse
practitioner, on top of their academic
and professional training and
experience. Your search for the
right match stops here at Living
Well Behavioral Care in Knightdale, NC
on McKnight Drive, where we try
to be all these. Call now for your
first appointment.
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