Is Your Team Actually A Team?

[Hope4Now]

Is the "team" of people who treat you and/or know about your PTSD actually a team that works together? I'm really curious about how it works for people besides me. Does your family doctor/internist talk to your therapist and vice/versa? Does your therapist talk to your psychiatrist? Does your significant other (if you have a human one) talk to any of these people?

Or, are you the interpreter to all of them about what the others say? If so, how do you manage it?

I'm feeling really overwhelmed and am trying to get my "team" members to talk with each other. My therapist is open and willing but nobody else seems to communicate very efficiently.

Thanks for any input on this.

 

[WildMermaid]

@Hope4Now I hope you team starts communicating soon! I don't have a team yet. Have one Dr. and soon will have an Rheumatologist and possibly therapist as well. This seems a valuable question though, so I'll keep quiet and read along.

 

[darrenS]

My Therapist communicates with my psychiatrist who i rarely see but is a fantastic dr and my pain management doctor has spoken to my psychiatrist and is very aware of my ptsd and is also a fantastic doctor, my therapist has the rights to communicate with my pain doctor but never has, as i play lynch pin in the team. If they need to work together i tell them, as i have in the past

 

[Seasounds]

@Hope4Now, I'm sorry for the lack of teamwork you are experiencing. I bet you'd enjoy having more people 'on the same page'. Ideally, what would you like from the teamwork?

I think a lot would be gained if 'teamwork' was an option. It seems like providers either do not want to hear of other provider's diagnosis, don't want to take the time, etc.

I have missed my Primary being on the same page as my psychiatrist and me, with PTSD. At first it was very hurtful; now I just don't expect my PCP to understand (this provider has an antiquated notion of what PTSD looks like. I also don't bring up PTSD.) I stay with my PCP because he is alternative, and listens to me on every other issue.

As my PCP referred me to my chiropractor, they trust each other's work with me. And my acupuncturist and physical therapist know each other. My PT, kindly, mentioned the two had conferred.

Intentionally, I do not encourage my Providers to speak to one another.(However, I just heard from my Psychiatrist that Providers DO NOT need a release to speak to one another. They are only prohibited, to speaking to one another, if the patent indicates that they MAY NOT speak to one another.

From childhood, triangulation and two authority figures (parents) conspiring against me, is a big fear; don't go for that arrangement. Of my providers, the only one who really understands my PTSD and who formulates care around my needs, and who doesn't lay trips on me, is my psychiatrist.

And, I do get the treatment that I want, with them not communicating. If I wasn't happy with any of their care, I wouldn't mind if all of my providers and I could teleconference, or Skype, quarterly, to coordinate care.

 

[desiderata310]

Well... I am about to find out....
I'll let you know how my newly assembled "team" does.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

At first my psychiatrist talked to my various therapists. That stopped a few years ago now. Nobody ever talked to my GP...there was no point.

There is no need to communicate between any of them. My GP handles my general health issues. She refers all psychiatric matters to my psychiatrist. There really is no overlap between the two, and no need for them to talk to one another.

The same goes for therapy at this point. Well, right now I'm without a therapist, but my med load is fairly light and with my last therapist, she didn't want me on meds so there was no opportunity for discussion between them.

If I had a SO, he would not be talking to my therapist or my psychiatrist or any of my treatment team for that matter. It is my business and my business alone. I am an incredibly private person and it is hard for me to trust. I would feel silenced and fear betrayal if my SO were to talk to anyone treating me professionally.

 

[Tinyflame]

I'm not sure, it would feel terrible to be left out of the 'loop' from your own treatment providers, if they spoke together but not to you. Then again, one would think coordination would be best. (In Canada lots of pharmacists catch med contra-indications from prescribing doctors). I guess it would depend on how much you trust them (& their competency) individually, & their transparency with you.

 

[holdenmonty]

I know that my therapist and psychologist talk because they work in the same building and their offices are only a couple yards away. I'm pretty sure my primary care manager (pcm) doctor doesn't talk to them and to be honest I don't mind at all because I don't have much respect for my pcm because the few times I have seen them instead of somebody on their "team" they act like I'm trying to get out of something by seeing them. My therapist helps me talk through stuff and my psychologist helps me talk a little but primarily helps me with my meds.

 

[Friday]

Whenever I decide to take another whack at the ADHD + meds thing, I have a team.

I generally start out finding a kick ass psychologist/MSW. Then I ask them for a referral or 3 to psychiatrists they enjoy working with. That way I do all my kibitzing with one person, and then they short speak the pertinent bits to the other, and voila. Super functional team of psych + med management.

I've only ever had one foul up going that route... And, to be honest... My PTSD stuff was rocking out hardcore at that point (which was why I was willing to consider ADHD meds. I didn't really know it was PTSD stuff, just sort of assumed that changing lifestyles to be all responsible meant my ADHD stuff was throwing a fit over it). I made a bad choice in psychologists, so it's of little surprise that their choice of psychiatrists also sucked. I was just able to see that first off.

GP? GPs are amazing docs who have to know an encyclopedia's amount of a tiny bit of everything. Just enough to know when to send you on to a specialist. Which is a helluva lot harder than it looks. That said?... There is no way in hell I'd have them involved / assist in my neurology, just as I wouldn't have them assist in my open heart surgery.

Never really had a trauma therapist. I tried over this summer/fall/winter... But the dual problem of almost no one with military experience (closest are 3-5 hours away), and then the whole "sharing" thing ;) (apparently, I don't share well. Odd. I always thought it was running with scissors I had problems with)... Meant I spent 6mo trying to find someone, and 3 months wasting time to no purpose. So didn't even get to the part where there could be a team. Shrug. Is what it is, I guess. Never an easy button when you really need one.

 

[Seasounds]

@Hope4Now, do you want to elaborate, what would you like to achieve with teamwork? Not having to be the go-between? Have an ignorant provider trust you more? Not feel like you are doing their job (of finding out what another provider is doing?

 

[Hope4Now]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on this.
I suppose I really need to figure out what it is I actually need from these people. Ah, therein lies the crux of the problem...I don't actually know what I need and keep hoping someone will figure it out for me! I suppose that's my job though. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Lucycat]

My T talks to my psychiatrist. My T updates my GP by letter every now and again, or if something significant needs reporting. T always tells me about these conversations and letters, but I don't get to see the content, nor do I want to. I see these 3 - T, Psychiatrist and GP as my professional team.

My family support - is my husband . In the past Laura has also been very supportive as has another friend J. and to a degree my elder brother. These are my personal team.

I do not ever see the 2 teams interacting or overlapping. I would not want them to. They have different roles. I am really pleased that my professional team communicate very well with each other and with me. I have never needed to ask them to - it is just they way these individuals function.