Here now I’ll list the questions you can ask your psychiatrist either when you’re first diagnosed or at any point in your recovery.

Psychiatrist Questions

If I need to call you, how long do you usually take to respond? Do you have another doctor on-call if you’re on vacation?

If I ask you questions, will you give me detailed information about why you think I need a certain treatment? I need to know the rationale behind your suggestions.

What drugs do you frequently prescribe to your patients? Have you had success with these drugs?

How much experience have you had with atypicals?

Will you prescribe drugs “off-label” if you think it will benefit me?

Will you discuss any side effects of the medication you’re treating me with, and do you have a plan in case I develop a side effect?

Is your focus on mental illness treatment and recovery, or do you have a general clientele? Are you willing to be creative in custom-tailoring solutions to my treatment needs?

If my parents or a third-party person needed to speak on my behalf or talk to you about my treatment, how would you handle that?

What would a typical session with you be like?

Do you have an area of expertise with certain illnesses?

Where did you get your degree? Are you Board Certified? How long have you been in practice?

What do you feel challenges and inspires you as a doctor? [This could tell you a lot about their personal work ethic.]

What hospitals do you have admitting privileges with?

Are you willing to coordinate my treatment with my primary care doctor or get the results of blood work or tests from this doctor to integrate my whole health care outlook?

Do you have evening or morning or weekend hours?

Do you test for tardive dyskinesia? Have you ever had a patient who developed this, and what has been your experience with treating TD?

Do you take my insurance? Will you bill my insurance company or do you expect me to pay up front and then submit my own claim form for reimbursement?

What is my diagnosis and how did you come to that conclusion?

What medication do you propose to use? (Ask for the name and dosage level.)

What is the biological effect of this medication, and what do you expect it to accomplish?

What are the risks associated with this medication?

How soon will we be able to tell if the medication is effective, and how will we know?

Are there other medications that might be appropriate? If so, why do you prefer the one you have chosen?

What are the side effects of the medication? How long should I “wait out” any side effects before calling you?

Are there other medications or food that I should avoid while taking this medication?

How long do you expect me to be on this medication?

How often will I be seeing you until the medication takes effect?

If I’m taking more than one drug, when and how often should I take each one?

How do you monitor medications, and what symptoms indicate that the dosage should be raised, lowered or changed?

Are you currently treating other patients with this illness?

What are the best times and what are the most dependable ways for getting in touch with you?

What do you consider an emergency if I have to call you after hours?

Do you believe someone can recover from a mental illness?

[This question is the gold standard. If at all you get the idea that this doctor doesn’t believe recovery is possible it will benefit you to keep looking until you find a professional who is interested in seeing his or her patients succeed in life.]