“A Psychiatrist’s perspective of TIME’

 

Being a psychiatrist, time dictates my day in hospital. It starts with a 15-20 mins conversation with the client, but can never be fixed or predicted. Clients many times require extensive work up which usually exceeds my time frame, but I can understand there are issues and situations which cannot be constrained. So in these circumstances listening part exceeds for 45 mins to one hour. On the contrary it is important for me; being a psychiatrist; to try and complete the session in a fixed time frame or else it will be taken away from the successive client’s time.

                                                       Sometimes clients are so anxious about the confidentiality issues that they come up with some significant history at the end of the therapeutic session. Although such issues should be addressed properly at that time, thus relieving client’s immediate anxiety and clients can be asked to take up that issue in the next session if they are comfortable.

                                                       A psychiatrist’s job isn’t an easy task. I may be a physician, but I am a human being too, who require a lot of skill for remaining non-judgemental throughout and not getting impacted by patient’s heart breaking issues. So, prioritizing my own self-care time becomes a necessity to  prevent burn out.

 

I like to spend my weekends doing non psychiatry activities (other creative activities) so as to get rejuvenated for a full brain storming week ahead. Being in this medical field for providing better  mental health care; it demands a lot of energy which has to be balanced for maintaining my own sanity.

                                                          Being in practice for last 6 years, I have established my own set of techniques of solving these issues by completing the therapy in a particular time constrain along with maintaining the required connectivity with the patient; therefore, making it fully therapeutic as well as well-balanced for me also. I allow clients to have an uninterrupted talk. Allow them to ventilate and then I give them insight into illness, acknowledge them regarding medicines, its mechanism of action, neurobiology behind the illness and other life style modifications required for further prevention and cure. This help them understand the illness and improves compliance for medicines and therapy.

                                    Opting for this profession as a passion, and maintaining a healthy mind, requires mastering skills of balancing our own time and rejuvenating ourselves time to time.