I had one this morning I think it was about 3 minutes (I got out of there before it was even supposed to start) and he pushed me out before I could ask to lower my meds, tell him how I have to call several times to get refills, and that I've been having akathisia. Is that normal?

Exactly the same procedure for me -- "Come in, Come in, how are you?" -- "suicidal thoughts? mood swings? sleep? appetite? Ok, Take this to the receptionist. Have a nice day."

A total of 3-5 minutes tops. In my case-- I live in a small town and he's only here like once a month (He travels between 3 different locations), so he gets bogged down with tons of patients at one time. It's no excuse for a elaborate and thoughtful session.. but it happens.

I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to address your concerns to him. Maybe you could write them down next time and start off with you have some things to share first. Maybe that'll catch his attention long enough to actually work with you, haha.

Officially 20 minutes, and my appointments usually are 20 minutes. Sometimes they go 30 minutes, if really needed, at no extra charge. Only on rare occasions (a few times in the last 13 years) has my psychiatrist asked to cut the session short to 15 minutes for some important reason. When I have been very ill and needed an emergency appointment, very often he gives me a double session (about 45/50 mins), though I do have to pay for a double session in those rare cases, but they're worth it. Out of network psychiatrist.

My husband's psychiatrist has given him anywhere from 5 mins to 20, usually 10 mins. In-network psychiatrist.

My psychiatrist is basically partly retired and only keeps his long-term patients, including me. I think he only sees patients between 10 am and 4 pm nowadays, and less on Fridays. He always reserves some time for emergency appointments. Since he does his own billing and has no secretary, he allows himself time between patients a lot, but if a patient is really unwell he'll let them eat into his administrative work time.

I think much older psychiatrists tend to give more time to their patients than younger psychiatrists. I think younger psychiatrists are more money hungry (or have big med school debts to pay off) and just no longer have the same bedside manners as older psychiatrists. I know there are exceptions.

There are a lot of psychiatrists in my area, but many do not accept insurance, or are in-network. That's a drag, but they know they can get away with it. From my experience, in my area, the psychiatrists and psychologists that don't accept insurance tend to give longer sessions. It makes sense since they are ultimately earning more money per patient/client. However, newer psychiatrists and psychologists who have private practices need to build up their patient loads. That's usually when they take popular insurance plans (i.e. Medicare, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc.). Obviously patients with insurance flock to them, especially if they really can't afford more than a co-pay or are unable to pay 100% upfront and have to wait for out-of-network reimbursements. Then the younger psychiatrists build up a real "in-and-out" situation where they're cranking in as much money (patients) as they can per hour.

I know that a lot of people live in areas where there are few psychiatrists and therapists compared to the patient/client demand. For that reason, and for the reason of cheaper rates (and/or more providers taking insurance) Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners seem to help make up the difference. In five US states (Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, and Louisiana) even some specially training psychologists are allowed to prescribe psychiatric medications. That's certainly a way to get more face-to-face time with a prescriber.

I know I'm going long now...Skip my story below, if you like.

My first psychiatrist (16 years ago) would see me for meds and also led a group therapy for some of his patients. My husband's current psychiatrist does this, though my husband doesn't attend the group therapy part. They're both older gentleman close to retirement age. The advantage of their system is that one could share info with them during or after the group therapy. Also, this setup was what finally led to my bipolar diagnosis. When I first started seeing that pdoc it was only for depression. He prescribed Lexapro. During the three sessions he saw me in group therapy, he witnessed my switch to hypomania/mania. He tapped me on the shoulder afterwards and said I had "manic depression" and that I should go off the Lexapro and onto a moodstabilizer. Of course I quit him right there and then, and didn't see him again until the day before my first psychiatrist hospitalization a year later. All hell had really broken loose!

I hope that anyone that answers spike's post here that lives outside of the US, will indicate that. I'd be curious to see what any differences there may be across the world.

[Calypso2632]

My psychiatrist books for a 20 minute appointment I think but I'm usually in there for 40+ minutes. She knows I can't do therapy so on top of med check and general well-being she goes in depth. And there used to be alcohol dependency involved as well. It will probably be different next check in about 3 months. I'm really not on meds, haven't drank in about 5 months. I'm doing good as far as stability.. just had an interview today so there is a possibility of a new job. That might bring out more anxiety but overall I'm holding my own. She commended me on that a couple weeks ago. Yay!!

Originally Posted by Brentus

Exactly the same procedure for me -- "Come in, Come in, how are you?" -- "suicidal thoughts? mood swings? sleep? appetite? Ok, Take this to the receptionist. Have a nice day."

A total of 3-5 minutes tops. In my case-- I live in a small town and he's only here like once a month (He travels between 3 different locations), so he gets bogged down with tons of patients at one time. It's no excuse for a elaborate and thoughtful session.. but it happens.

I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to address your concerns to him. Maybe you could write them down next time and start off with you have some things to share first. Maybe that'll catch his attention long enough to actually work with you, haha.

likewise, and they hate it if I stay longer (absolutely hate it).

actually I think one time I had a 10 minit appointment, but that was only because the one the week before never happened

if they can, they prefer to do it over the telephone (and they have done that before)

[Guiness187055]

30 minutes but I also pay $200 cash he does not take insurance. He is a very very good Pdoc

[fern46]

It depends. My initial appointments have lasted 20-30 minutes. I've seen three different pdocs in the past few months. My maintenance appointments are shorter. 15 minutes at the most. They seem to only be looking for changes since the last meeting and they want to know how my med adjustments are working for me.

3 minutes seems neglectful. I would speak up and make sure he or she knows you have items you'd like to discuss at your next visit. How long until you go back?

[downandlonely]

My appointments are set for 30 minutes, but if I'm doing pretty well we'll stop at around 15. I like that she takes that much time with me. It is hard to find a psychiatrist who does appointments longer than 15 minutes.

[BipolaRNurse]

My visits are always 30 minutes, only about 10 of which are spent on meds. He doesn't traditionally do therapy but we do cover some ground during the other 20 minutes. I once had a pdoc who did do therapy and our sessions were 60 minutes. I miss that, but at least I have some therapy. I haven't been able to find a therapist locally who takes Medicare, which is my only insurance.

[Victoria'smom]

Maybe 10 min but that's only because my meds are changing. Usually it's 5-10 min. 4x a year.

[Blue_Bird]

Usually around 15 to 20 minutes. It sometimes goes longer than that though when I'm not doing well. I don't feel pressured to hurry up or anything, I've been seeing my doctor for several years and she's great. I see a therapist too and those appointments are generally around 45 minutes long.

20-25 minutes. My previous pdoc was 3 minutes. Same 3 questions every time while she looked away and typed.

[yellow_fleurs]

My appointments lasted maybe 15-30 minutes when I was seeing a psychiatrist. It kind of depended on the situation and if it was a check-in or I was not doing well. I had a lot of appreciation for how much my psychiatrist listened and asked questions. Not only that, but sometimes he picked up on things that I wasn't even saying and noticed I was not doing well.
I am sure how long appointments are depends on the person's stability and if they are going through med changes, but if it's a really short appointment and you get rushed out before saying what you came to say that is a problem I think. Can you call and speak with them about the akethesia?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

My pdoc charges for (and does) a therapy session. So I'm scheduled for 60 minutes but often am there 75 and have been there longer when things were extremely bad and she was trying to figure out how to help. If I had insurance covering my therapy I'd have to see them on different days but I pay for therapy out of pocket so it doesn't matter.

I know this is really rare and I do have a few things in place that make it this way. One is that I'm willing to drive 2.5 hours each way to a teaching hospital so my pdoc is being paid by the hospital, not by how many patients she can squeeze into a day. She and the hospital both believe in providing the amount of care needed over the amount earned. Another is that I've seen her for 16 years and at this point she only treats people she's seen a long time, all of us complicated. So she knows that every session is not going to be simple. She also sees me at a time that she doesn't see other patients so she just happens to have some extra time if needed.

The negatives are that I can't get in between sessions. I can email her for med adjustments and phone calls if things are absolutely desperate but she's hard to reach between sessions.

I'm sorry for those who have such bad times. I had a pdoc before this one who was spending only a few minutes with me and based everything on her belief that if I was able to work in health care that I wasn't nearly as sick as I was and she couldn't seem to hear me saying "I'm really not doing well and I need help badly".

If you can get in at a teaching hospital seeing an attending sometimes that means you get more time.

[Wander]

Ten minutes but longer if needed. My pdoc is usually very present in our conversation and addresses the issues at hand. Sometimes he’s in a rush and I can barely get half of the things I came for dealt with but this is rare. He also knows I am on a disability pension so very low income. Against his own policy he bulk bills me so I thankfully don’t have to pay a cent. I see him as often as needed and can usually get an emergency appointment for serious situations within days. I am very thankful.

[MobiusPsyche]

Usually about 45 minutes. I don't need that much time but he likes to talk to me in depth to observe how I'm doing rather than asking me a bunch of questions about my symptoms.

[TheSeaCat]

I see a Psych PA who works under a pdoc, so obviously my experience is probably a little different since he isn't actually a doc but rather a mid level; so he might do things a little differently than a tradition doc.

My first appointment with him was an hour long; obviously it lasted a little longer since I was the last one of the day.

He typically does 30 minute med follow ups which so far I haven't had to see him for a med follow up but even then that is still a decent amount of time to properly adjust things; granted I typically still see my primary doc and he typically deals with my psych meds which is usually a 15 minute appointment but honestly I like using my primary doc for everything even though the copays are the same to see him or the Psych PA.

He also does therapy and I have had to see him for therapy a few times when my other T is dealing with his personal life. I really like this guy he's pretty good.

I would say if a pdoc isn't giving you at least 15 minutes then you really should be finding another pdoc.

[Sunflower123]

My pdoc has always given me between 35-45 minutes when he took my insurance and even when he didn’t and said I could self pay $105 a visit. I’ve been extremely lucky all these years.

I don’t know what to expect with his NP aside from them telling me it will last one hour the first session. After that, not sure but I’m feeling increasingly better that he will be supervising her so he’s not completely gone.

I’m sorry your pdoc is not giving you more time. They need to do better then 3 minutes.

[Seaswept]

30 minutes, but i have to drive an hour away to see him.

It's worth it though because the other three docs in my new state f'd me up with meds that didn't agree with me; they didn't take the time to really listen to my past experiences (14 plus years with bipolar).