My approach to treatment in Psychiatry is called “eclectic”. I do not pigeonhole or rubberstamp patients so that they appear once monthly for a 5-minute prescription refill and then disappear until the next month.
Instead, when I evaluate my patients I do as complete a review of their health as possible. A diagnosis is determined and a treatment approach is planned.
One time I was speaking on the practice of Psychiatry at an educational conference. A psychiatric resident in the audience asked, “Why does it take you so long to figure out what is wrong with the patient? I can usually make the diagnosis within the first few minutes.” My answer was, “The psychiatric diagnosis is the last diagnosis made.” It is necessary to rule out other illnesses that simulate psychiatric disorders. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn noted, “Truth eludes us if we do not concentrate with total attention on its pursuit. And even while it eludes us, the illusion still lingers of knowing it and leads to many misunderstandings.”
These are some general principles about listening I try to follow:
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- “So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, no part of it.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
- “To be listened to is, generally speaking, a nearly unique experience for most people. It is enormously stimulating. It is small wonder that people who have been demanding all their lives to be heard so often fall speechless when confronted with one who gravely agrees to lend an ear.” – Robert C. Murphy
- “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “It is the province of knowledge to speak. And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Cancer Ward, “Sometimes it’s easier to find a wife than to find a doctor nowadays who is prepared to give you as much time as you need and understands you.” My first training supervisor advised me, “If you listen to the patient, he will tell you what is wrong.”
My new patients may be referred on to sleep specialists, endocrinologists, or neurologists for further evaluation of medical diagnoses. I promise my patients that I will leave no stone unturned to try to find the cause(s) of their concerns.
Follow-up visits include a review of original symptoms, a review of the effectiveness of treatment, and supportive therapy. Supportive therapy is the discussion, education, and decision-making of and about what has happened because of the illness. Together, the patient and I try to remedy the damage, mistakes, and hurt that the illness may have caused to the patient, to the family, and to the community. The purpose is to gain a way forward to a better quality of life.
God bless my family, and bless me in this endeavor.
Happy New Year! I am very impressed with your updated Mission Statement! I feel this is a beautiful reflection of you and your professionalism! The quotes you chose are perfect and worth contemplating.
Dr Hillenbrand’s mission statement is 100% accurate and illustrates his compassion as a doctor. After being a patient of his, I know him to be the kindest, most caring, and patient man I have ever known. I will forever be grateful to him.
I have been a fortunate patient of Dr. H. for nearly 25 years. There are not words to describe how the quality of my life has been improved with the help of him. He is my biggest touchstone and cheerleader as long as he has begun to treat me. There is no person in my entire 58-year life experience who has truly listened, heard and cared for me as a fellow human being. He has used his vast wealth of knowledge to care for both my mental and physical health in order to make the most informative and most likely effective treatment resulting in a quality of life I never would have experienced had I not been his patient.
Although I have been retired from my own psychiatric practice for the past nine years, I continue to refer patients to Dr. Hillenbrand. I was blessed to have “Charlie” as my mentor/teacher during my psychiatry residency at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine nearly 50 years ago and his impact on me, both personally and professionally, has been profound and lifelong.
By his example, he taught me the importance of not only “knowing your stuff”, but also, and more importantly, of truly “giving a damn”. Although he and I were never formally affiliated, I frequently referred my more difficult cases to him for a second opinion and, since my retirement, have referred a number of suffering souls, including several family members, to him.
Dr. Hillenbrand is, without exception, the most knowledgeable and compassionate physician I have ever known. I am forever grateful to him for all he taught me and, more importantly, for his brilliant diagnoses and effective treatment of all my referrals to him.
Thank God for Dr. Hillenbrand.
Dr Meiszner and Dr Hillenbrand both played major roles in me being a productive and sober individual who finds joy in life. Dr Meiszner helped me out with my addiction problems and got me involved in AA and Dr Hillenbrand helped me with my crippling social anxiety, health problems and my people skills. Without both of these doctors care and commitment to their professions, I would not have the quality of life I have today. I thank both of you again. It’s good to see that you are alive and well Dr Meiszner.
Sincerely,
Len Vlcek