Seeing mental health professionals or doctors about issues are akin to that of being in an interrogation

[TAW122]

In an old Reddit thread that I once made (was gilded) in the TTG subreddit (some of the veteran members may know of it), I spoke about how seeing mental health professionals are similar to that of being interrogated. This is because they have an vested interest in protecting their job, liability issues, and legal requirements (according to the government, they are mandated reporters, meaning that if they have knowledge of belief that one is a danger to oneself or others, they would break confidentiality and report said patient or person to the proper authorities, including having the person being locked up against their will.). Therefore, I've made the comparison of them to that of someone in an interrogation, where what they said can/will be used against you.

Every time I talk to them, I treat them no different than walking into a police station to talk to police (or anyone in a position of power, the ability to destroy my life if they have a legit reason or cause for (thus I am very careful with my behavior and words).). Think of it like you are in an interrogation, the detectives and police are NOT your friend, they don't care about your feelings or your interests, just to get a confession or get enough evidence (through your own words) to bolster their case for the DA (District Attorney) as well as the prosecutor and the state (government), and advance their careers. If they succeed in (helping to) getting a guilty verdict, then that's all they care about. At least in such situations, while the detective and interrogator will assume guilt, there is the legal system (and your lawyer if you have one or afford one) to represent you and you have rights.

Now of course in therapy or counseling session, there are some differences to that of being in a detention center's interrogation room, and that is that at least the suspected criminal has a right to an attorney, a right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Sure you get those rights (or I should say privileges?) in a session with a mental health professional, but the difference is that your credibility is already at stake and you are presumed to be ill before you even make a case, so you have even fewer rights. Since this isn't like a criminal case or interrogation, the consequences are extrajudicial and aren't really gone through the legal system (unless there is something like a involuntary commitment hearing). Either way, the whole "you're guilty until proven innocent" thing is real here. That isn't to say that the criminal justice system isn't flawed (it is, but that's a different topic altogether), but at least you are "legally" considered innocent until a jury finds you 'guilty' in the court of law.

So in conclusion, what I have to say is that in a therapy session, it is nothing more than an extrajudicial interrogation session, where what you say can (and probably will) be used against you, you have fewer rights than that of a suspected criminal, there is also less legal protection on your end if somehow the mental health professional decides to screw you over- whether due to a misunderstanding or if they are just malignant and on a power trip. I mean, sure you could (theoretically) challenge the system and sue, but let's be honest, very few people have the time, money, and resources to seek justice - even then, it would be a costly victory if even at that... This is all because as a client or patient your credibility (as mentioned earlier) is already shot to begin with, unlike the suspected criminal where only if/when he/she is proven guilty in the court of law is he/she actually condemned. I don't want to say that being a suspected criminal is good at all either, it sucks, but when comparing the two scenarios, they both share many similarities and one of them (the suspected criminal) is the lesser of two shitty situations.

Anyways, that's just my take on how mental health sessions (with therapists and counselors, other professionals) are akin to that of an police/law enforcement interrogation.

 

[schopenh]

I have a deep fear of my refusal to take antidepressants (because of legitimate concerns about their true efficacy and safety based on the literature) being taken personally by the psychiatrist and then effectively being treated unfairly as a result. To the point that I have accepted many prescriptions with a smile that I've never filled. I've even lied about being on a tapering schedule, even though I never swallowed a single pill. I'd give my GP updates about the dosages I was (supposedly) on and tell her any withdrawal side effects I was experiencing.This theatricallity and deception was actually easier than being open.
I made the mistake of asking a psychiatrist in a hospital once what diagnosis she had made such that she was prescribing me anti-depressants (I was in the hospital for a physical problem and this was some routine pre-discharge thing they did with patients who were in chronic pain). She was genuinely furious. Here's me thinking they tested medications for specific diseases and you'd need to have those diseases to rationalise the prescription, whoops, what do I know.

 

[TAW122]

I have a deep fear of my refusal to take antidepressants (because of legitimate concerns about their true efficacy and safety based on the literature) being taken personally by the psychiatrist and then effectively being treated unfairly as a result. To the point that I have accepted many prescriptions with a smile that I've never filled. I've even lied about being on a tapering schedule, even though I never swallowed a single pill. I'd give my GP updates about the dosages I was (supposedly) on and tell her any withdrawal side effects I was experiencing.This theatricallity and deception was actually easier than being open.
I made the mistake of asking a psychiatrist in a hospital once what diagnosis she had made such that she was prescribing me anti-depressants (I was in the hospital for a physical problem and this was some routine pre-discharge thing they did with patients who were in chronic pain). She was genuinely furious. Here's me thinking they tested medications for specific diseases and you'd need to have those diseases to rationalise the prescription, whoops, what do I know.

I'm sorry to hear about that, and reading that just gives me rage fuel over how these 'professionals' not only treat patients like shit and even if patients try to question their practices they get hostile. This is not even considering that they have many immunities from civil liability (really hard to get them legally by suing or anything like that). The healthcare system definitely needs a serious overhaul, not just with how they interact with insurance companies and billing, but also their procedures on how they deal with patient intake and the patient's rights.

 

[faust]

Let me mix this post with your previous one, because they are similar to me.
The main difference between visiting a doctor and the judiciary is that when we go to a psychiatrist or any therapist, we don't take a lawyer with us. Yes, that sounds pretty funny, but every joke has some truth. Imagine what would happen if we had our own lawyer for every police visit or visit to a psych ward. Or, for example, when you are going to be taken for compulsory treatment, you would be able to say that without your lawyer you will not go anywhere and you will not talk to anyone at all? All of them like when we don't know our rights are our capabilities. So, for every lawlessness there must be its own justice. If, for example, someone called the cops and said that you are suicidal, then this does not mean that they will succeed in picking you up. In this case, you need to behave confidently, as if nothing had happened. Their call could cost you several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars after forced treatment, which means you have to act decisively. Convince them that everything is alright and tell that the call was false. Pretend that you are interested in how to write a statement to the police about a false denunciation.

Each time you say something unnecessary to therapists, it can be used against you. If you tell your psychiatrist that you will hang yourself soon, then most likely he will not recommend increasing the dose of antidepressants, but will contact certain services. And so it is everywhere. You call the help line, and instead of listening to you, they will start asking for your name and address. Because everything is built on this.

In conclusion, I would like to say that you do not need to be frank where you should not do this. Any doctor can contact an ambulance if he considers it necessary.

 

[TAW122]

@faust Interesting point about how we don't take a lawyer with us when we see a psychiatrist or therapist and that is indeed true. Also, if I am understanding you correctly, do you mean that I didn't need to state the obvious? I was confused at your last two sentences.

 

[Alec]

I have a deep fear of my refusal to take antidepressants (because of legitimate concerns about their true efficacy and safety based on the literature) being taken personally by the psychiatrist and then effectively being treated unfairly as a result. To the point that I have accepted many prescriptions with a smile that I've never filled. I've even lied about being on a tapering schedule, even though I never swallowed a single pill. I'd give my GP updates about the dosages I was (supposedly) on and tell her any withdrawal side effects I was experiencing.This theatricallity and deception was actually easier than being open.
I made the mistake of asking a psychiatrist in a hospital once what diagnosis she had made such that she was prescribing me anti-depressants (I was in the hospital for a physical problem and this was some routine pre-discharge thing they did with patients who were in chronic pain). She was genuinely furious. Here's me thinking they tested medications for specific diseases and you'd need to have those diseases to rationalise the prescription, whoops, what do I know.

WTF?! She wouldn't tell you what your diagnosis is?!?! THATS MESSED UP ON ALL LEVELS!!! You have EVERY right to your own medical history, and diagnosis about anything including mental health!!! This is probably illegal that she refused to tell you!!

 

[schopenh]

WTF?! She wouldn't tell you what your diagnosis is?!?! THATS MESSED UP ON ALL LEVELS!!! You have EVERY right to your own medical history, and diagnosis about anything including mental health!!! This is probably illegal that she refused to tell you!!

The point is that there was no diagnosis. She hadn't made one yet she was happy to prescribe anti-depressants, which is ridiculous.

Let me mix this post with your previous one, because they are similar to me.
The main difference between visiting a doctor and the judiciary is that when we go to a psychiatrist or any therapist, we don't take a lawyer with us. Yes, that sounds pretty funny, but every joke has some truth. Imagine what would happen if we had our own lawyer for every police visit or visit to a psych ward. Or, for example, when you are going to be taken for compulsory treatment, you would be able to say that without your lawyer you will not go anywhere and you will not talk to anyone at all? All of them like when we don't know our rights are our capabilities. So, for every lawlessness there must be its own justice. If, for example, someone called the cops and said that you are suicidal, then this does not mean that they will succeed in picking you up. In this case, you need to behave confidently, as if nothing had happened. Their call could cost you several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars after forced treatment, which means you have to act decisively. Convince them that everything is alright and tell that the call was false. Pretend that you are interested in how to write a statement to the police about a false denunciation.

Each time you say something unnecessary to therapists, it can be used against you. If you tell your psychiatrist that you will hang yourself soon, then most likely he will not recommend increasing the dose of antidepressants, but will contact certain services. And so it is everywhere. You call the help line, and instead of listening to you, they will start asking for your name and address. Because everything is built on this.

In conclusion, I would like to say that you do not need to be frank where you should not do this. Any doctor can contact an ambulance if he considers it necessary.

It's pretty crazy how we let this clearly corruptible paradigm happen. The human race, for all it's faults, are pretty good at writing long documents that define our rights and bla bla. And usually try to catch things like this. I guess we (society) have serious faith in the ability and virtue of doctors.

 

[SleeplessSoul]

WTF?! She wouldn't tell you what your diagnosis is?!?! THATS MESSED UP ON ALL LEVELS!!! You have EVERY right to your own medical history, and diagnosis about anything including mental health!!! This is probably illegal that she refused to tell you!!

when I had my psych assessment the psychiatrist told me that she didn't believe in diagnosing people but then told the A&E doctor when I went in the evening after that I'd been diagnosed with BPD

The point is that there was no diagnosis. She hadn't made one yet she was happy to prescribe anti-depressants, which is ridiculous.

it's so annoyingly common how quickly anti-depressants are thrown at people