[mercer]

My experience (and anecdotally the experience of many people I know) is that because a psychiatrist's proverbial hammer is medication, it's really important to either try other things first (like a psychologist who doesn't immediately send you to a psychiatrist) or to at least make sure you have sources of advice/expertise other than just a psychiatrist.

This is in The Netherlands, where AFAIK we're not particularly known for overprescribing medication, and our health care provides caregivers with enough funds to not go for the 'easy' pill solution right away. I imagine it's quite a bit more an acute risk in the US.