Amanda the Great by Amanda El-Dweek for January 13, 2025

I feel for ya. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly in the counseling profession. And there’s a big difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

Yep. And there is also a big difference between listening to the patient and just reaching for the prescription pad.

It can be a complex journey. I think it’s a good idea to define, “good therapist,” or, “a therapist right for me” first. What do we mean by those things?

Identical experience.

Today’s Calvin and Hobbs kind of encapsulates the sentiment. Snow and all.

Young Amanda is being supportive!

Ask your insurance company about another telehealth service. Most can get you an appointment within hours, if necessary.

I’m sorry you feel the need. I’ve never been to a therapist…..maybe that’s my problem!!

I just had a video conference with the VA Pain Management therapists. It was a great way to chat without leaving my home.

My advice is to get more cats. Cat therapy has helped my wife and I through a very tough 2024.

Must be a third world sh!thole country without single payer/national health.

Our HMO is great. I know it’s hard to believe. The one exception is the mental health department. There have been several strikes in the past few years over understaffing and pressure for quick turn around.

Keep trying is what I’d tell Amanda and or anyone else. Normalize the idea that seeing a counselor is something anyone should do for a variety of reasons. Grief counseling. Career counseling. Mental health can be proactive or preventative. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication but probably doesn’t have the time to spend with patients so pairing medication with talk therapy would be my suggestion. Insurance is a nightmare here… persistence may be required