I’ve been thinking about this topic for quite some time. I told the client a month and a half ago or so that I would post a blog entry about what to ask a prospective doctor. Then I sat down to think about it and realized it was a much more complicated topic then at first I had thought. So I would like to open this up to my few avid readers. Please feel free to send me thoughts via email. But here’s what I’ve got so far.
let’s start with the goal. The goal is to interview your doctor to ensure that you get someone who is knowledgeable and competent. Easier said than done.
How are we going to go about this? The method? I’d like to come up with a series of questions that you can ask a potential doctor at your intake, which I also think of as an interview for them, that will allow a layman to assess the doctor’s expertise and compatibility. Emphasis on lay person. Even though I said layman earlier. I don’t feel like editing it.
how about the reason for this. Maybe reasons the wrong word. Maybe it’s need. I think we need this, because the level of ignorance and incompetence I see my clients having to deal with in their practitioners in 2025 consistently astounds me. And because ADHD it’s so prevalent in our population, I often see practitioners who have listed themselves as experts, largely in order to attract patients/clients, rather than due to any actual level of expertise.
also, there continues to be a deeply ingrained prejudice against ADHD and its treatment. It’s not quite as overt as it used to be. But I can’t think of another legitimate medical diagnosis that is so underdiagnosed, under recognized, dismissed, and misunderstood anywhere in our society. I think people feel capable of portraying themselves as an expert largely because they don’t think ADHD is important. So they’re ignorance doesn’t bother them.
per usual, this is going to end up being a series. I think I’ll just focus on these foundational questions and issues today. Look out next week for more detail.
the last important issue I want to cover today is the prescriber patient relationship. Some doctors are great. Some doctors are middle of the road. And, yes, there are some doctors that suck. But I’m not sure it matters if you’re a great doctor, if you’re not open-minded, a good listener, and a good communicator. The days of the doctor being the all-knowing expert who can feel free to talk down to the lowly patient should be over. But they aren’t always. And sadly, I find that vestiges of this outdated model linger is much in psychiatry as in any other specialty. Or maybe I just know more psychiatrists, so I see it more.
but especially when it comes to psychiatry and psychology, the relationship is super important. There are very few tests of any value in psychiatry. The treatment is only as good as what the patient reports, and what the doctor is open to hearing. And a good relationship will Foster openness and sharing on the part of the patient. And open-mindedness on the part of the clinician, will allow them to see things from different angles and consider different possibilities. Again, this is super important when it comes to psychiatry, because so many psychiatric illnesses and neurobiological diagnosis overlap in symptoms. And because of the staggering number of patients with multiple comorbidities. Not to mention the fact that psychiatry is essentially trial and error.
if you’ve read this far, I buried the lead. You, as a patient, deserve to be heard, respected, and treated like an equal. I was very lucky to have found my way into the practice of a wonderful doctor who was the foremost expert on ADHD in the world. My family found him when I was 10. But I stayed with him for 30 years because his expertise was equaled by his humanity. He was a good person and a good doctor, not just an encyclopedia of ADHD knowledge. And when it came time to get my kids help, they both went to see him. As I still say, Dr B. was a world-renowned expert in ADHD and child psychiatry as a whole. But my wife and I are the world’s foremost experts on our kids. And due to respect and partnership, that was a formidable combination.
I use that as an example. But I have great relationships with many clinicians who treat me and my kids. You deserve to have a great relationship with a competent doctor. If you don’t feel heard or respected, bring it up. If the doctor isn’t receptive to that conversation, think about finding another one. Next up, thoughts on how to do that… I hope.