Welcome to the Psychiatry and Psychotherapy podcast, the podcast to help you in your journey

towards becoming a wise and pathic, genuine and connected mentor of professional.

I'm your host, Dr. David Peter, a psychiatrist who splits his time practicing psychopharmacology,

individual and group psychotherapy, medical director of a day treatment program, medical

education research, and teaching, residence, and medical students.

Okay, so in this first episode, I am going to go through a basic lecture I give to

30-year medical students on how to do a psych-HMP.

Now the goal of the psych-HMP is first and foremost to connect with the person in front of you

as a human being, as a fellow life traveler, as someone who is flawed, like you are, flawed

like I am, as someone who struggles, like you are, struggles like I do, as someone who needs

help.

And the first thing you can almost always assume is that there is an aspect of shame that

walks into a room.

When you go visit a psychiatrist for the first time or for the maybe 50th time, there's

still this aspect of there's something wrong with me, I'm defective, and what's up with

that.

So if they look a little downcast, if they're looking down, if they're having a hard time

getting words out, just assume it's because the very nature of what it means to see a mental

health professional, it's hard, it's got wrenching, it takes time to get over that.

So first and foremost, you really want to try to connect with this person in front of

you.

And I really think it's helpful to see them as someone who could be you.

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