Can I Skip the Psychiatrist Visit and Just See My Primary Doctor?

Today I am going to talk about the difference between visiting your primary care doctor and a psychiatrist.

In general, everyone has their own preferences about who they see for their mental health treatment. But it is important to remember that there is a very big difference between seeing your primary doctor and seeing a psychiatrist.

First, your primary doctor and your psychiatrist have different training backgrounds. A primary doctor is usually trained in family medicine or in internal medicine and a psychiatrist is trained in psychiatry. So, even though your primary doctor and your psychiatrist both went to medical school and are medical doctors, the training programs they attended after medical school, which is called residency, were vastly different.

Another difference is that your primary care doctor is what we call a generalist. A generalist is someone who takes care of a person’s many different body systems, but if a specific condition becomes complicated or varies from the norm, a generalist will often refer someone to a specialist for further assessment.

While the generalist covers a wide breadth of health with less depth, a specialist focuses on one body system in detail. A psychiatrist specifically treats those with mental health concerns and has undergone specialist training to do so. They have skills and knowledge about mental wellness that goes beyond what most primary care physicians have about the topic.

Besides the difference in training, the amount of time each type of physician will spend with you is different. Generally, mental health visits are longer than a visit to your primary care doctor. Even if the visit is about the same amount of time, a primary care doctor has to cover all of the body systems and the psychiatrist can spend the entire time learning how to best assist you achieve mental wellness.

The primary care doctor will likely perform a physical exam and a psychiatrist usually does not. The only time a psychiatrist performs a physical exam is when they are checking for certain side effects from a medication class known as antipsychotics. They will just check the movement of your limbs for ease of movement as the medications can sometimes make people feel stiff.

Another difference is that a psychiatrist will likely cost more money to see because they are a specialist. Some psychiatrists do not take insurance and most PMDs do take insurance except for concierge medicine practices. I would argue that spending the extra money on specialized mental health care is worth it. For more money, you will have a physician who has specialized knowledge in psychiatry spend more time and energy focused directly on your mental wellness. You might want to ask yourself, “how much is my peace of mind worth?” “How much is it worth to live my best life?”

In addition, ask your psychiatrist if they will send you what is called a superbill. A superbill is paperwork that you can send to your insurance company for partial reimbursement of your out-of-pocket cost.

Finally it is common for people to have fear going to see the doctor and it is even more common to have a fear of going to see the psychiatrist, which is why many people try to just see their primary care doctor for treatment. I recommend watching my previous video about fear of visiting the psychiatrist so you can feel more at ease with the idea of visiting a doctor that was specifically trained to help you achieve mental wellness. 

Both your primary care doctor and psychiatrist should make sure you do not have any common medical issues that are presenting as mental health concerns. To do that, they will order basic blood work and a urine test.

In case you have not guessed, I generally recommend visiting a psychiatrist when you have mental health difficulties. The specialized care you receive is well worth the investment of time and money. Once the psychiatrist says you are stable, you can always ask your primary care provider if they are comfortable providing refills of your psychiatric medications, with the plan to return to the psychiatrist if things become problematic again with your mental health. But, you never know, you might find that you prefer seeing the psychiatrist for all your mental health needs, even if it’s just for a check-in.

If you would like me to be the psychiatrist who accompanies you on your mental wellness journey, please click on the “Book Appointment” button and schedule your free 15-minute consultation with me, Dr. Mills. 

Thanks for reading, have a great week, and remember, Mental Health is Freedom!

Dr. Mills is the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Freedom Psychiatry, located in California. She focuses on achieving mental wellness using medication, nutrition, and lifestyle changes.