I had to see a psychiatrist yesterday as a requirement to get into the navy. Background info- i had a traumatic brain injury in 2001 and was on meds for anxiety all the way up to 2008 when we discovered that i never really needed the meds all along, it was the people who were helping me that had a difficult time with me changing. anyway, once he found out i had tbi and was on those meds years ago, he started acting almost bipolar. he did not act this way at first.He started asking me about my religion and about numbers and things. then he handed me a 401 question true/false questionnaire and i had to finish it before i could leave. i am just wondering if his prolonged stories about his personal life and his neverending changing tones were because he was trying to provoke me or if this was a joke. i am so confused because i have never been through this and neither has anyone else i know. please help if you have ever been through anything like this....thank you in advance!
Shyler2010-03-20T17:48:40Z
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Sounds like he was trying to provoke you to see how you'd react. As far as asking about numbers, people with OCD are number oriented. It sounds like you handled yourself well and you should be fine. Good luck and God bless.
I have a tbi and there were many doctors and therapists I saw during recovery. Some were very good and a few were very bad. Had a neuropsyc for all the testing and I really liked him. But when I was told I should do some counseling with him he seemed like a totally different doctor. He confused the heck out of me and after 3 sessions or so he said we should stop because he didn't think I was cooperating or something. I remember being so mad at him. He would ask me the same question over and over. My answer was always the same cause it was the truth. I think he thought I was lying but I was not. I moved on and did get counseling for the effects of a tbi with and very nice therapist and it helped me so much. In time you will pretty much put this experience with that doctor behind you.
His personal stories may have been an effort to put you at ease if they related to your own situation...but if he was discussing things about himself that didn't relate to your circumstances, I'd say he was inappropriate. His erratic personality changes raises a red flag too because this reflects a lack of professionalism.
He was likely talking about numbers to determine if you have any cognitive issues from your TBI, questions about religion may be in regards to your values & ethics...I wouldn't worry too much about those questions which are probably routine.
Is he contracted by the Navy or independent? I imagine the Navy has it's own way of doing things so maybe there's a hidden agenda to his behavior..maybe your instincts are correct in that he was trying to illicit a certain response...part of a psychological evaluation...but if not, I'd question his abilities & think about seeing someone else.
In Canada it's possible to check through the College of Physicians to determine if there is a history of complaints about specific physicians, I don't know if you can do so in your location but I do know that people who operate with what seems to be unprofessional behavior often have been reported by others.