Psychiatrist list

Last week I wrote about depression and its consequences but I did not give it too much thought. It just was the topic that stuck to my mind after lunch with an old friend so I decided to write about it. I was totally unprepared for the reaction I got — so many texts most of them asking for the name and number of a good psychiatrist. It went on all week. Midway I decided to write this column where I would put down the names and numbers of therapists you can call. Some of them I know, others I don’t. The choice is yours.

Must you choose a therapist? Don’t you go to the first one available? It depends on your situation. If you are in an emergency — you had a nervous breakdown, for example — go to the emergency room of the nearest hospital and take what they give you to calm down. After that is when you start looking for either a psychiatrist or a psychotherapist. Usually both because all cures to depression or any other mental discomfort require first medicines then talk therapy. For the medicines you need to see a psychiatrist because s/he has a medical degree and can prescribe. For talk therapy you could go to a psychotherapist and she will refer you to the psychiatrist who will issue prescriptions.

I suggest you check out a few people. Once a long time ago I made some appointments with a few psychiatrists and psychotherapists. These appointments were for my daughter who was very depressed, so depressed you couldn’t drag her to see the doctor. I found that the waiting time was long — one to three months — before you could get an appointment. So when the time came and she wouldn’t go, I went for her. I needed to understand why my daughter was depressed.

I must have gone to see three psychiatrists. They did not make me understand any better. Then I saw a psychotherapist who was very pleasant, charming, worked laughter into the conversation and made me understand what depression was about, what could be done about it and what I could do next. I thought my daughter would enjoy sessions with her. In the end I asked her if she would accept me as a patient. We can do a mid-life pass, she said.

I very much enjoyed my sessions with her. She got me to look inside myself and understand myself better. She is a very good therapist and I was also a good patient. Our personalities matched. She and my daughter also got along well. That’s important too achieve some success in the treatment.

One of the texts I got said s/he had gone to see many psychiatrists and just found the answer when s/he found God. I suppose that’s good too. Finding God must have saved him a lot of money. Or did it? Psychiatrists and psychotherapists can cost a lot of money but if you suffer from depression or manic-depression or anxiety attack disorders, you must invest money in the cure.

Anyway to help all of you in search of a psychiatrist or a psychotherapist, here are a few names and their numbers. On the top of the list are Dr. Dido Gustilo-Villasor at the Makati Medical Center. She was my psychotherapist but she is on vacation now. Her telephone number is 0917-8147684. You may call instead Dr. Charm Bernardo at 0920-9538344 or Dr. Rene Samaniego at 0917-5401930 or Dr. Tom Batalla at 0927-7247440. Also you might call Dr. Liza Rondain at 0917-5296345 or Dr. Sophie Bate at 0917-5276279 or Dr. Bernie Nepomuceno at 0918-9155957 or Rose Yenko at 0917-5123763 or Joji Racelis at 0920-9090801 or Maureen Sandejas at 0917-8436455 or Vicky Cantada at 09178324480 or Josie Valderama at 09220-9111726. Or you might try Chato Lozano who cures depressions through the use of colors.

You may want to try Dr. Honey Carandang whose clinic number is 468-4359 or 0926-6272510. You may also get in touch with Dr. Dulce Lizza Reyes-Sahagun, the head of Psychiatry at some hospitals in Quezon City. Her telephone number is 0917-9511161.

There. Those are all the psychiatrists and psychotherapists I know. Please call them and ask for an appointment remembering that you have to find the one that suits you best. Don’t be shy. You need help? Get help.

Just a footnote. I am a columnist. I decide what I will write about. Please do not make any requests for me to research on your disease and write about it. That is not done. I write about depression because I know about it. Do not ask me to write about things I know nothing about. I will not do it. And for others who have asked me to give them free treatment – grow up. It is your body and your mind. Be concerned about it and heal it. If you need money ask your parents or work for it. Or go to a hospital and see what kind of attention you can get. Please don’t ask me.

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