The Right Match: Is it Worthwhile Waiting for it?
Dr. Claudia Epelbaum is speciaized in mental health. As a psychiatrist, Dr. Epelbaum focuses on emotional wellbeing, behavioral health, and she diagnoses and treats mental illnesses. Due to her secondary specialty in Family Practice, her approach is holistic with consideration of the whole individual, their physical health,... more
As a practicing psychiatrist, I often get asked for my opinion on how and where to find a good mental heath clinician. One of the best pieces of advice that I can give to people, is to not only look for someone with availability but also carefully requests referrals from trusted friends and primary care doctors, word of mouth in the community, and research the provider's biography and experience on your own. Why? It doesn't just make a little difference...it makes ALL the difference. It makes the difference between a positive and a negative outcome, and this is a lot to say, especially in the field of mental health. To be more specific, there are negative outcomes in mental health and they could quite often be a result of poor matching between patient and clinician.
How does that happen? I will mention two areas of concern: 1) Lack of cultural sensitivity and understanding could lead to misinterpreting of the patient's childhood experiences and result in what I call "pathologizing". What is pathologizing? Creating pathology (illness, abnormal, unhealthy, deficit) out of an experience that is not abnormal in their culture, and that is not causing or triggering distress and impairment in the present, but that often clinicians without sufficient understanding of the cultural differences could flag as a problem and guide the patient to believe so as well. Countless times this has led to a strain on families and communities and led to over-diagnosis and over-medication. 2) Lack of alliance due to poor communication creates mistrust, prevents patients from sharing their most censored beliefs about themselves, and often hides unsafe or misguided pathways of thinking. Not infrequently this leads to worsening illness, safety issues, relationship problems, work conflicts, and persistent negative self-esteem and self-image.
In summary, whether the match is based on gender, language, race, religion, country of origin, belonging to a similar community, an instant connection, or just trust and good chemistry...a good match, turns into a good working alliance. In mental health, our work is collaborative, with patient and clinician sharing the goals, expectations, frustrations, and successes, one step at a time. So...unless there are safety issues or serious concerns that cannot wait and need to be addressed in a hospital setting or emergency room ...it's definitely worthwhile waiting until you find the right clinician to ensure the best possible set of collaborative decisions for your mental health goals, and personal, family and global well being.
Dr. Claudia Epelbaum M.D
Originally from Argentina. Harvard-trained psychiatrist. Licensed in Massachusetts and California.
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