Finding a psychiatrist in Denver who also provides therapy or psychoanalysis—often referred to as a “combined treatment” approach—is becoming increasingly rare in modern medicine, where the field has largely split into psychiatrists (who handle medication) and therapists (who handle talk therapy). Dr. Williams is able to offer combined biological and psychological approach by combining his training in both traditional medical training and intensive training in in-depth psychotherapy.
However, there are several clinically significant reasons to choose a physician who does both:
1. Integrated Brain-Mind Perspective
A psychiatrist who does therapy understands the “hardware” (neurochemistry and biology) and the “software” (thought patterns and emotions) simultaneously. They can help patients distinguish between a biological depressive episode that requires medication and a psychological “stuckness” that requires insight.
2. Precise Medication Management
Many high-volume outpatient practices limit the psychiatrist to briefer, less-frequent visits, sometimes seeing a patient for 15 minutes. A psychiatrist who spends 45 minutes in a therapy session with you sees the subtle nuances of how a medication is affecting your personality, your speech patterns, and your emotional range. This creates opportunities to manage medications closely and with less pressure to solve chronic problems through medications alone.
3. Avoiding the “Split Treatment” Communication Gap
In a “split” model, you have a therapist and a separate psychiatrist. Important details often get lost in translation between the two offices. By seeing one person:
- There is no conflicting advice.
- Nothing is missed. The person prescribing your medication knows exactly what you talked about in therapy five minutes earlier.
- Streamlined Care: You only have one person to coordinate with for scheduling and emergencies.
4. A Focus of Deep, Lasting Change Over Rapid Symptom Reduction
While many modern therapies focus on “managing symptoms,” psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy focus on underlying causes. A psychiatrist trained in these fields looks at how childhood experiences and unconscious patterns shape your current behavior. This is particularly effective for “treatment-resistant” issues where medication alone hasn’t provided a full recovery.
5. The “Transference” Advantage
In therapy, patients often project feelings about important figures in their lives onto the clinician (transference). A psychiatrist who understands this can use these feelings to help the patient heal. In a medication-only model, these feelings can actually interfere with treatment (e.g., a patient stopping meds because they are “angry” at the doctor but don’t know why). An analyst-psychiatrist can work through those feelings directly.
6. Flexibility in Treatment
Sometimes a patient starts treatment thinking they need medication, but through therapy, they may discover that the symptoms are related to deeper psychological or personality-related difficulties. Conversely, someone may start therapy and realize their progress is being “bottlenecked” by a biological chemical imbalance. A psychiatrist who does both can pivot between these modalities seamlessly without referring you out to a second provider.
