Looking for advice on anti-depressants please

We never did find out if this individual is in NY or NJ. The analytic institutes could be good, but they are certainly not $10 any more. The good thing about them is that there are many people around to hopefully get info from. In NJ, there are not as many and may not be as easy to get to out here.

Anti-depressants should not be feared. All medications have to be monitored, because we are not all the same. Your friend should not hesitate, in my experienced opinion.

Family Connections in West Orange on Center Street has a good outpatient mental health clinic. They can have a wait for intake, but when she calls she can tell the phone intake clinician her symptoms and stress how depressed she feels, and they may schedule her sooner rather than later. She could also go to an ER and get an assessment and referral. It's unlikely she would be hospitalized unless she is exhibiting psychotic symptoms or states she is suicidal or states she wants to be hospitalized.

She can also call the Mental Health Association of NJ and get information and referrals to specific providers who work with a variety of populations: immigrants, survivors of armed conflicts, victims of violent crime, individuals who aren't native English speakers, etc.

IamMe's nonsensical narratives are not appropriate here. The notion that this person spent some time in medicine, hopefully not as a practitioner, is disheartening. There are some good suggestions here for finding some healthcare resources. Looking into those is a much better approach than reading anymore of those screeds.

FWIW, what I said about getting prescription drugs without a doctor's advice being illegal was not meant to be taken literally. It's from the Department of the Bleeding Obvious, for one thing.

I just get really tired of the idea that lay people should try to influence their doctors by doing their own research among friends and family. Honestly, I find that a very dangerous notion. Just because it worked for you or your Aunt Judith does not mean it will work for someone you are meeting through MOL third-person.

If you don't have any faith in your doctor, find a new doctor. Your friends and family member don't know enough, unless they have medical degrees. That's just one woman's opinion, but I feel pretty strongly about it.

I feel what we offer as a community is our experience and support. In spite of the media saying that people over medicate, I find that many people are worried and afraid to try medication. The OP's observation that it is extremely difficult to find help for someone who only gets medicaid, is right on the money. It is appalling. I find on MOL there are often one or two people who are alarmists, or provocative, and they are pretty easy to spot and avoid. It would be legitimate for the OP and his friend to get a prescription from a GP, but I do agree a psychiatrist, depending on the individual, might be better--if they can find one.

Sadly, Family Connections has a several month waiting list.

I'd love for her to go to a psychiatrist, but it appears impossible due to the long wait list.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll be calling them tomorrow.

Hope it goes well. Let us know. Particularly if the medication helps or not. Maybe get on a psychiatrist's waiting list in case you are unlucky with other. You can always cancel an appointment if something works in the mean time.

Thanks so much, gerryl