Wasn't even assessed at the AS "assessment"

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I went to see a psychiatrist to be assessed for Asperger Syndrome. I (and the referral letter from my GP) clearly mentioned I was seeing him for that purpose. It was a one-hour session. Towards the end of the session I realized he wasn't really assessing me for AS, but he was trying to "help" me deal with my depression, anxiety, OCD or whatever. I asked him about the process of AS diagnosis. He said I should deal with my depression, anxiety etc because I can have all of those problems together or something. He asked me if I needed a prescription for medication for OCD, depression etc. I said "NO!".

That was it. He didn't seem to know what he was supposed to be doing. I went all the way there, wasted my time off work and lost $140+ (out of my pocket), for that useless session.

I don't know if it's because he is a foreigner (sounded and looked like an immigrant doctor) - a possible communication problem. I am an immigrant myself, but this kind of incident makes me wary of immigrant professionals. I don't want to end up wasting that kind of amount of money in this way. I'm also losing confidence in my GP for referring me to such a psychiatrist. He had strongly recommended him.

I know how difficult it is to deal with this kind of situation at the time, you are in a sort of shock and confused and don't know quite how to deal with it.

How did you pay? If it was a cheque (check) you could stop the cheque until it's sorted out?

I would email the clinic (or write) and query/complain what happened. Copy the GPs letter and highlight the relevant portion referring to ASC assessment. Also check out the clinic's website if they have one and look at their complaints procedure. Copy your GP in on all correspondence too. State to the clinic that you did not get what you came for and the doctor you saw appeared clueless as to the specific reason for you being there. Ask for a copy of his notes of the interview/assessment, and if it was recorded (I'll bet you wish you recorded it secretly yourself now) ask for a copy of that too. Say you wish to be seen again at no further cost for what you came for, and explain that due to your suspected condition you were unable to speak up at the time.

This doesn't sound right. I wonder if this was an emergency stand-in clinician who just muddled through.

ALWAYS...ALWAYS...ALWAYS specify UP FRONT what you expect of a session before it begins.

If the doctor knows you are there for an AS assessment and diagnosis, there is no excuse to wander far from that goal. Sure, he/she might ask what makes you think you need it, but to try to steer you away from the testing would be no different than a doctor who tries to talk you out of getting an x-ray on your knee when you are actively suffering knee pain and are concerned if something is damaged or not.

Thank you for responding, whirlingmind and zer0netgain.

Yeah, I've learned my lesson that I should absoluely clearly state what I expect from the session at the beginning. I have actually already made a phone call to a different clinic, told them about that disappointing session at the other clinic, clearly stated what I'm seeking and made appointments. They know exactly what I want and explained to me how they are going to do it. So this time I'm not going to be disappointed in the same way.

whirlingmind, I admire you for always giving very specific practical advice/ideas for people, particularly about the assessment process. In this particular case I don't think I'm capable of pursuing it any further (complain or try to get a refund) with that useless doctor because it would be a pretty stressful process itself and that's the last thing I need now. It's a pain to lose $140 like that (particularly because I will be spending much more for my dental treatment soon!), but that amount is not going to destroy me financially right now. I might mention to my GP what happened the next time I see him though.

I will never simply assume that professionals know what they are doing.

always keep that in mind,but its a problem that affects native specialists as well as the differing levels of teaching abroad.
just because they have a masters in pyschology or pyschiatry it doesnt automaticaly mean they know how to spot something and will always meet the arrogant ones who think they know everything about someone else and love diagnosing themselves with everything.

to be future compatible it shoudnt be AS he is assessing for,in america, its the DSM manual they mainly use and there are no specific sub labels of autism anymore,its all under asd.


am not a fan of mainstream MH specialists and have been diagnosed the wrong end of the spectrum before due to being looked at by someone who admited he had never worked with ASD nor LD before but he was willing to try, the gp had said he was the most experienced guy he knew in asd,but this pysch had never even checked up on developmental history,let alone realised was not interacting or communicating.
am pretty lucky though because was not long after removed out the home into institutional care and got access to very experienced autism and LD specialists,who changed the labeling plus removed adhd.

Well I believe jk1 did do that:



You would think that this was more than enough, I mean you can't get clearer than having it in writing.