Confessions of a future doctor

I really hope to be a psychiatrist someday. It won't be easy with my illnesses, but I'm used to fighting for what I want. It's odd in a way. I walked away from that dream so many times. Even after I decided psychology instead of psychiatry, I walked away, but I always come back. Mental health is my calling. There's no escaping that. God made me to do this. Some people think faith and counseling are at odds, but I suppose it depends upon what perspective you come from. I guess I'm a bit eclectic, sort of coming from a Christian humanism and cognitive-behavioral perspective. Most psychiatrists are focused on the biological and sometimes psychodynamic (psychoanalytical), which is a theory I subscribe to very little. I don't believe that psychotropic drugs are the cure-all of mental illness. In fact, I think they are overused. Some disorders, such a schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, require medication, but handing out a prescription with the first visit of every patient...well, that won't be me. Medication is all well and good for those with chemical imbalances or those who are suicidal and need their serotonin boosted quickly, but I think medications hould be temporary when it's used, except in the condititions in which it is generally needed on a lifetime basis. I'm not saying it's impossible for someone to need medication for depression for an entire lifetime, but I think it's overused far too much. Eventually, I plan to open a private practice in which I can offer faith based counseling.