Shut up and give me my meds!

Recently a patient whom I had not seen for almost a year showed up in my office demanding that her antidepressant prescriptions be filled for another year. She made it clear that she had no interest in engaging in any form of therapy and refused to provide any necessary information in the way of medical workup, emotional life, or any other interaction that did not revolve around her immediate intention of renewing her prescriptions. 

    This incident disturbed me deeply. As I sorted out my own feelings, my anger towards this rude patient gradually turned into deep frustration with the current state of the field and our cultural biases that has reduced us as humans into imbalanced chemical machines only needing to be fixed. There is no room for integration of mind, body, and soul. Standards of therapy are set by pharmaceutical companies and third party prescription fillers who often demand a year's supply of potentially dangerous medications that require close monitoring. 

The doctor/patient therapeutic relationship is the most important component of the healing process as confirmed by the high placebo response for these conditions. So unless you are determined to ruin my day by insisting on devaluing the whole process, let's work together to minimize risks and maximize your well-being!