Heathermomster Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 What kind of doctor am I looking for that specializes in ADHD, bipolar disorder, can test attention, and write a prescription for meds? Thank-you, ~h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 It needs to be an MD to write the scrips. You would typically want someone who specializes in the ed stuff if this is for a child, so then you'd need a psychologist and a psychiatrist to have all the angles covered. If it's for an adult, it depends on what they want to do with the ADHD diagnosis. If they just want the label, I think the psychiatrist can handle the whole caboodle, since a general will diagnose ADHD in adults. But if they want counseling, more thorough testing, etc., you're still back to the psychologist. I assume you already know a p-doc (psychiatrist) is md + more training. Thing is, the p-doc can be even more expensive than the psychologist, mercy. So where you start really depends on what you think you need done. There's also a variant of the nurse practitioner with psychiatric training. That's what my dad sees now for his weekly, and then he sees a p-doc for less frequent. So it just depends on your mix and what kind of supports you're trying to get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 What's the diff between a psychiatrist and psychologist? I don't care how much it costs. I need a doc that understands bi-polar disorder, ADHD, dyspraxia, and writes scripts for meds for teenagers and adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Psychiatrists go to medical school to become general physicians and then get specialized training in mental health. A pyschologist has a PhD. or a specialized psychology doctorate so in most places they cannot write prescriptions for medication. Their training focuses more on counseling/therapy, though neuropsychologists do receive specialized training in assessing cognitive functioning. Bipolar and ADHD you want a psychiatrist. Dyspraxia you probably want a pediatric neurologist and an OT. Dyspraxia is a motor planning disorder rather than a mental health one. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I don't know if there's one specialist that could cover all your bases. If there's one nearby, your best bet might be a center at a children's hospital or other large health care system where they have psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurologists on staff who share information with each other. Besides something like that, we have a place near us that specializes in neuro-behavioral stuff and has all the necessary specialists coordinating information. It seems mostly geared toward autism and learning issues but they cover all kinds of stuff, and comprehensive, coordinated care is emphasized. Perhaps your pediatrician would have some knowledge of a type of place like that near you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Agree with the above ladies. You need different clinicians for all those. You need a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner for the meds, but psychiatrists are incredibly difficult to access and they will only manage meds. Psychologists can diagnose the bi-polar but they would refer out for meds and management. Many clinicians are qualified to diagnose the ADHD, but I'd probably want to see a neuropsych. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 Thank-you for all the input. I was hoping to find a doctor who could write a script, evaluate if need be, and was educated enough and sensitive to mental illness, inattentive ADHD, and dyspraxia. What a pain finding someone that will see a child. Every person that I have called will only see adults. The ped is more than happy to write a script but I would prefer to work with a subject matter expert. Actually, the ped has never been helpful. When I discussed this with her last time, which was 7 years ago, she wanted me to have DS evaled with a TOVA but could not provide a name of a TOVA test provider. How am I supposed to figure that out? And while I am at it, watch me pull a rabbit out of some hard to reach place. I spoke the our ped's nurse and they are questioning the Nepsy II and the behavior surveys. So far, I have one name and they only accept cash...no insurance. What is up with that? I need to look up their addy to be sure their office isn't behind a warehouse or super market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I'll PM you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 It depends partly on the rules of the state where you are located. In our state MDs, Naturopaths, DOs, and I think Nurse Practitioners can all write prescriptions. There might be an MD, Naturopath, or DO with an interest in ADD and biPolar--though not sure about those also overlapping with the attention testing which might need to be someone else. Where I am, I'd probably try a naturopath first if I could afford it because they tend to take more time and be more open minded. Otherwise, a child psychiatrist...as long as you are definitely wanting to go the standard medication route. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 It's a huge pain. Lots of psychiatrist around here are not taking insurance anymore because the billing is such a problem for them. I think many parents are using neurologists when they can because they know it will be covered. My mom works for an agency that serves children with autism and all kinds of mental health and behavioral issues, and they are having major problems getting insurance reimbursements from insurance companies. We are paying out of pocket for our child psychiatrist despite having rather good insurance coverage. We started with her out of desperation. On numerous occasions, I went down the list of psychiatrists in our network and spent hours calling everyone within a large geographic area. I only found one place that would see children or had openings and made an appointment. Then my mom warned me to make an appointment elsewhere because that place would cancel, based on her clients' experiences. Sure enough, they did. But because of her advice, I had already bit the bullet to get into someone even if it meant paying out of pocket. I'm very happy with our psych but paying $$$ is getting old. Sometimes when she's changing medications or changing dosages, she wants to see her every week or two. Yikes. As soon as things are stable, I'm going to switch over to our ped, but it has been worth it until now. If this psych weren't as good as she is, I'd be crying about what this has cost us. Our house is older and is in need of a lot of sprucing up and repair, but right now any money we have is going into VT for my one dd and mental health for the other, because in addition to the psych we also see a therapist. I just try to remind myself that we're fortunate that dh has a job and we even have a house because it's not this way for everyone. And I'm thankful that my older two are doing very well right now, after the scares earlier in the year. When I'm driving home I pass a church that always has a cute saying on the sign out front. This week it has something up like, "Did you hear bout the poor man? He has nothing but money." And just this morning, I turned on the radio in the car after dropping dd off at work and I heard a list of Bible verses about relying on God and not on money. It wasn't the first time this week I heard something like that. I know these messages are out there because I need the reminder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 My experience seems to be similar to Kel's. We have a SSA. I'll have DH call insurance and discover whether we can pay the provider from that. There is one doc that two local moms have recommended. Thank-you all...This subject just irritates me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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