Earlier this month I made a post about my struggles with food addiction. After reading the responses and doubling down on myself that something had to change, I made an appointment with a psychiatrist based on someone's recommendation - because it was one thing I hadn't tried.
I wanted to share that experience today because I don't think my experience was typical, but I wanted to share it and perhaps get others' thoughts.
I was super nervous. We started out the appointment with her asking if I'd seen a dietitian. I told her the truth, which is that my therapist had suggested I see a dietitian, but I ultimately decided against it because currently my issue isn't that I don't know how to eat, it's that when I decide I want food I stop caring about portions and good decisions.
I went on to clarify that I'd also tried my own meal prep with all sorts of food, but usually don't finish eating the prep (and instead order out), and that I'd also tried getting pre-made meals, which I stopped eating within a few days as well.
Following this discussion, her next recommendation was 'intensive outpatient therapy.' This was new to me and she honestly didn't really describe what exactly it entailed, only that ideally I would go to the clinic each day (not really an option because it's fairly far and I don't drive - and work full time). She described both clinics in the area and advised me that the one she works at is most likely the best option, as they "focus on the emotional reasons behind eating." This conversation was around 20 minutes of her trying to convince me that this was the best option for me. Ultimately, I agreed to look into it and she agreed to write me the prescription I wanted to make the appointment about (naltrexone).
As promised, after the call I put in a "contact me" request on the page. I looked around their site a little, but it was vague and the psychiatrist had promised that they would 'assess me' to see if virtual outpatient was an option, so I figured I'd just get the information I needed in the phone call.
However, afterwards things got weird. My boyfriend, while I was telling him about it, began to the look the place up. It's not a huge shock that a clinic that (usually) forces people afraid of eating to eat has some bad reviews. However, not only did this place have bad reviews... They had lawsuits. MULTIPLE lawsuits over the span of 10+ years. The bad reviews were also all along that same time span, including some recent ones, mentioning the same issues time and time again. In fact, previous patients feel so strongly about this place that there's actually a victims site up filled with information about the clinic and more bad reviews.
Some of the highlights included:
- The clinic encourages individuals to separate all of their emotions into "parts" and then to think of those parts as unique people with their own ages and personalities. They then diagnose you (or try to diagnose you) with DID. DID diagnoses come up again and again in review after review.
- The clinic insists that all eating disorders occur as a result of trauma and patients who state they do not have trauma are told they are wrong and effectively encouraged to make up trauma just to get the staff to stop asking. False memories are extremely common among previous patients.
- The therapy methods used by the clinic are not proven.
- The clinic allows individuals to come back 10+ times even when it is clear that the clinic is not helping.
- The clinic is described as a "cult" or "abusive relationship" in numerous reviews. The word "gaslighting" also comes up in multiple reviews.
The other clinic (which my regular therapist apparently used to work at) has bad reviews, but they are much more along the lines of; "They just wanted my money" - which is shitty, but... Kind of child's play compared to the place my 'psychiatrist' works at.
In light of this place's reviews, it makes a lot more sense that my psychiatrist was so insistent that I must have emotional reasons behind my eating and that I just had to seek outpatient therapy.
The whole experience was so strange. I picked up my medication and I start it tomorrow, but I also texted my therapist (who I trust) to find out if she has a psychiatrist recommendation that I might be able to follow up with instead of this woman.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/o2dmyi/adding_an_ed_psychiatrist_on_top_of_my_ed/
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