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Psychiatrist duty of care

LjgsggNew Contributor20 Apr 2022, 6:53 am AEST

Psychiatrist duty of care

Just seeking some advice..

My brother is suffering with poor mental health, he has for years. He is also an alcoholic, so a very toxic as dangerous mix as he becomes aggressive. He has been in and out of rehab 3x and each time he comes out his behaviour worsens, threats become more severe and relapses shorter.. We have tried to reach out to his psychiatrist as he wont be telling him the truth and seriousness of his illness, he brags about knowing how to 'play the game' to get out of rehab and fool the police by putting on an act and saying what they want to hear.. i understand there is a confidentiality concern with his psychiatrist but he is becoming increasingly dangerous to himself and others, threatening family members etc. Whilst we are trying to support him we arent trained to do so and believe family help with his psychiatrist would be beneficial or at least the psychiatrist willing to hear our side of the situation so he has the full picture.

What are the psychiatrists duty of care? Is he able to talk to us regarding our concerns? We just dont know what to do.

2 replies

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In response to: Psychiatrist duty of care

Unknown userMember21 Apr 2022, 1:10 pm AEST

Re: Psychiatrist duty of care

Hi there @Ljgsgg and welcome to the forums 😊

I can hear that it's been really difficult for you and your family, which is why it's great that you've found this community and are able to reach out for support.

My best suggestion re. your question would be to give the SANE call centre a ring for a 1 on 1 chat on 1800 187 263 (Mon - Fri 10am-10pm).

The SANE support centre provides peer support, counselling, support, information and referrals to adults who identify as having a complex mental health issue as well as to the family or friends who care about them.

I'm going to tag our Community Guides who to give you a warm welcome and to help answer any questions you may have:

@Anastasia @AussieRecharger @BPDSurvivor @Faith-and-Hope @HenryX @jem80 @Judi9877 @NatureLover @outlander @Shaz51 @ShiningStar @Snowie @Hams @wellwellwellnez @Zoe7 @Aniela @Boo13 @CrazyChick @maddison @pinklollipop15 @Eve7

In response to: Psychiatrist duty of care

BipolarcarerSenior Contributor24 Apr 2022, 4:44 pm AEST

Re: Psychiatrist duty of care

I agree reach out to the helpline..

I could never get my partners psychiatrist to listen to my concerns, long story short but it took me seeing someone myself and my partner 'confronting' them for MY psychiatrist to talk to my partners one to provoke some semblance of interaction between myself and her psychiatrist, but even that was fleeting (though at least it got her diagnosed at last, her psych had been seeing her for 5 years, weekly without diagnosis and previously on a medication that made her far worse).

Anyway moral of the story the psychiatrist told me her duty of care was to my partner not to me or the kids, and only with my partners persmission could she talk to me.. <- this is an important point, I don't know how your brother would feel about that?

So in the absence of that I think it best to seek your own help (we all need support with these situations) and as suggested talk to the sane line (they are really good) and maybe they can give you strategies to make this easier or ways to attempt to approach his psychiatrist..

It is a very difficult situation and I am sorry if I sound negative about how hard this 'step' can be.

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