Relationship How To Get Diagnosis

[Mrs Allen]

Ok, so my husband and I have realized that he suffers from PTSD from childhood trama. He started going to therapy finally, just recently. His therapist has 40yrs of experience. She has diagnosed him with "depression" even tho he has opened up to her about everything. All of his symptoms, triggers, his studies, us joining fb support groups and how much he relates to them, his nightmares etc. I am SO frustrated, because I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that he is NOT just depressed and rhat he does have PTSD. My question is this, is his therapist who diagnoses him, or when he sees the psychiatrist for evaluation, does the psych diagnose him? Because without the proper diagnosis, he is not going to get the proper treatment. Please help.

 

[Mytime]

Welcome to the forum. My husband was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. My husband has PTDS and depression, they can go hand in hand. I hope you read around the forum. Also look at the suffers part of the forum. Sending hugs if you expect.:)

 

[Riot]

@Mrs Allen, for whatever it may be worth, I think it has to be 'observable' for such-and-such amount of time before it's 'officially' diagnosed. I could be wrong, but I think that might be where some of the minor lag comes into play for so many of us.

 

[Mrs Allen]

Thank you so much for your reply. Today he took with him a copy of the quiz that you can take on the official PTSD website that specifically says on the quiz to PRINT and take to your Health Care Professional. She read it, and then told him that he needs to stop thinking he has PTSD. Even tho I asked him the questions and marked his answers, not reading the parts where it says how many you have to display to be diagnosed. I'm just so angry. He answered yes to every single one of the questions. All of them! He says he has told her everything. How he gets triggered by my children because he doesn't understand normal childhood because he didn't have one. And how when they are bad he gets triggered and relapses back to what would have happened to him if he had done that. How can she think this is just depression??

 

[Mrs Allen]

@Mrs Allen, for whatever it may be worth, I think it has to be 'observable' for...

What do you mean? Observable by the therapist? Because it's been observed by me enough that my therapist (at the same clinic) has me deciding if I want to even continue with the marriage because it is causing so many problems.

 

[desiderata310]

So let's be clear for just a second: having 40 years of experience does NOT make you an expert. It means you have 40 years under your belt of doing something. That diploma that they like to proudly wave around? Yeah, it's as important as that toilet paper I used this morning on my number 2.
The best therapists are the ones that understand that they are not the end all be all of therapy.

Fire her.
Move on.
Find someone who will actually listen.

 

[desiderata310]

actually the toilet paper was damned important. It did it's job well cleaning up the shit AND it went down the toilet without clogging it up So.. there's that.

 

[Sweetpea76]

The psychiatrist would do the official diagnosis from my understanding. My vet was diagnosed by psychiatrists.

Just beware internet surveys etc. You guys deciding he has PTSD on your own may be detrimental as well if he doesn't fall under the diagnostic criteria. Not everybody that has a Crit A trauma gets PTSD. There are a spectrum of issues caused by trauma. Check out the DSM-V for more information, and meet with a psychiatrist. Then go from there.

Good luck.

 

[desiderata310]

OH and one more thing. Find a THERAPIST who works with Trauma and PTSD. START there.
Psychs are for if you need medication. START with a therapist. If he and the therapist decide that drugs might be a good idea (and no one should START with them) then try to go with someone the therapist works with

 

[Justmehere]

I would suggest finding someone who is trained in at least one trauma specific therapy such as EMDR. They will know what to look for. If they do a good job, it may take time. A doctor or psychiatrist can also diagnose PTSD, and provide medication support, if needed.

If you are stuck at that clinic only for financial reasons, then your husband can ask for the therapist's supervisor or clinic director, if there is one. Seems like there is adequate cause for the therapist to at least explain why they believe it's clinical depression without PTSD, if not also assist in a second opinion.

I would also be careful of pushing for any one specific diagnosis, and bringing in Internet surveys. It tends to shut down even reasonable providers from considering info.

The therpaist should have at least explained better (and may have explained better but might have been hard for your husband to take in) why they don't think it's the specific clinical condition of PTSD, and why they think it's depression.

No matter what, he always has the right to a second opinion.

 

[Enaila]

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety for 20 years or so. I couldn't recall the abuse or anything from over ten years of my life.. About 4 years ago the memories started flooding back in the form of flashbacks. I started to have night terrors or couldn't sleep. Everyday things triggered flashbacks and flashbacks aren't just a fleeting thought of trauma. They can really be scary. Nightmares happening while awake. I also have developed some phobias I didn't used to have. I was diagnosed four years ago with delayed onset PTSD. The DSM-V is pretty specific for criteria and everyone has a different story. Have you read the articles on the homepage of this site? They helped me understand the diagnosis.

If you already are feeling uncomfortable with the therapist, talk to someone new. I agree with Desidereta.

 

[Crow]

The key is seeing an experienced trauma psychiatrist.