Relationships with a psychiatrist? New Friendships with PTSD, GAD, MDD, and agoraphobia is it possible?

[Ajeannie]

I have a nightmare with my agoraphobia and social issues. I have been locked in my house since 2015 until the last year when a miracle took away a lifetime of suicide thoughts. Over the last year I have struggled trying to go back to society it likes leaving a tomb. My psychiatrist has been treating for about 4 years all has been pretty standard treatment with medicine. Recently I have felt drawn to my psychiatrist and feel like we are flirting. Is it possible to have friendship or relationships with a psychiatrist, as I know all about boundries transference ethics....ect...just wondering as we are older in life and I have done treatment for over 20 years now. I have never experienced this with other therapist and doctors is why I am asking. Also when you meet someone new how do you tell people about your mental health? And when in a new friendship? Thans AJ

 

[Sideways]

Is it possible to have friendship or relationships with a psychiatrist

No, absolutely not. Because of this:

boundries transference ethics

And if your psychiatrist heads down that path at all? Please report them, for the sake of all their other patients.

It’s actually pretty standard to develop a crush on your psychiatrist. Totally normal. The “not going there” is your brain learning how to learn what a healthy relationship looks like - what it is, and what it isn’t.

Trusting someone isn’t the same thing as intimacy. And it’s actually incredibly healthy to be vulnerable with a person you trust, and not turn it into an intimate relationship. For many many folks with a history of trauma? Their brains aren’t used to that concept, and it takes practice! Well worth it, though.

Separately

Also when you meet someone new how do you tell people about your mental health? And when in a new friendship?

Me personally? I wait until it’s a relevant issue. Which is to say, these days I mostly don’t bother, unless there’s a specific reason I need them to know.

 

[Weemie]

Is it possible to have friendship or relationships with a psychiatrist

With a psychiatrist? Sure. With your psychiatrist? No. This is a violation of professional ethics on their part and could cause them to lose their license or even wind up facing legal charges, depending on where you live.

It's highly egregious conduct and is universally considered abusive and predatory. You may feel you have a connection to this individual, but you're their patient. The power imbalance is too significant for you to truly have an equal partnership with them, regardless of your age or the length of time you've known one another.

Is it possible that maybe you're the one-in-a-million exception who this won't harm, who has found your soulmate - a person that can take all of this into consideration and somehow manage to account for it in a way that preserves your dignity and autonomy - and that doesn't wind up causing relationship breakdowns and resentment or psychological trauma in the future?

Like, ya know? It's a physics answer at this point. There's a non-zero possibility that you could spontaneously teleport to the moon, or revert to a previous point in time, too. But probably not.

If they're flirting with you and trying to initiate a relationship, they are probably a run-of-the-mill abuser who is arrogant enough to believe they can get away with their behavior. And they are probably doing it to other patients, as well.