Dr. Eric Bender

And some people will say to me, well, maybe just observe.

And I do that too, but there are ways to make people feel like they're important.

And I think when that has not happened in someone's life, when they've not understood that their priority, then all kinds of dysfunction can happen in their lives.

What I think, and there's some studies showing this, is that it's really about the connection with the provider.

no matter what modality, it's about the connection with the provider and feeling there's a relationship there.

So you could do CBT or you could do psychodynamic work and it's really the provider.

So that said, there's still a belief that cognitive behavioral therapy is the gold star for people with, say, OCD or severe anxiety.

And if you're not doing that, you're doing them a disservice.

And I will work with people in the way I do.

And if it comes to my attention that they're not improving over time, they're really still distressed.

So why don't we have you try something with a CBT provider?

So there's still certain beliefs about things, but it really does come down.

Evidence shows that it comes down to the relationship you have with your therapist.

With my patients, so a lot of psychiatrists will prescribe medication and do what's called medication management.

And at some point I can go over how to start with a psychiatrist 101 because a lot of people get confused.

Yes, psychologists have gone to graduate school.

They can't prescribe medication and they can do evaluations.

They can do psychotherapies, lots of stuff psychologists can do.

Psychiatrists have gone to medical school and they can prescribe medication.

Some people have a medication practice where they see people and they just prescribe medication.