First appt with new Psychologist this week- should I write a list of symptoms etc?

[BelAnna]

Hello,

I have my first appointment with a new Psychologist this week (Friday) and I'm dreading having to go through all my thoughts and mental health history again!

Do you think I could just hand him a long word document with info rather than having to go through it?!

(So far for treatment I've had six years of Psychologist sessions and seen four Psychiatrists, four CBT therapists, two Occupational Therapists and five counsellors so I'm a bit sick of going through it all at each initial appointment!!).

 

 

[PolarBear]

Whether you sit down and type it all out or talk to your psychologist in person, you will be going over it all again.

Your new psychologist might not want to hear the whole story anyway.

[BelAnna]

3 minutes ago, PolarBear said:

Whether you sit down and type it all out or talk to your psychologist in person, you will be going over it all again.

Your new psychologist might not want to hear the whole story anyway.

Haha thanks, that's true- I don't go on a lot in person though :-P

[daja]

I would do and have done.

[taurean]

I have had two psychiatrists and three clinical psychologists. 

I let them ask me what they wanted, and when asked to (by the latest one)  completed thoughts logs. 

But for this last one I did produce a short but concise summary of what I saw as my OCD issues. She was grateful - that plus the completed thought log she had e-mailed me in advance saved a lot of time. 

And the thought logs confirmed my own suspicions. I had worried that I might also have General Anxiety Disorder, but under interpretation from the therapist she showed me I had some other negative thinking distortions which were playing out alongside the OCD. 

So treatment became CBT for OCD and for those. 

[daja]

Just bullet points maybe...

[BelAnna]

Thanks Taurean; it sounds like your treatment was helpful?

Thanks Daja, will do! 

[taurean]

41 minutes ago, BelAnna said:

Thanks Taurean; it sounds like your treatment was helpful?

Thanks Daja, will do! 

Yes it really helped

 

[BelAnna]

35 minutes ago, taurean said:

Yes it really helped

 

That's brilliant! I'm hoping to make a lot of progress with this Psychologist before I move to Scotland next Spring!