 [ Symptoms ] the zoloft my doctor prescribed five weeks ago is not working i have been referred to a psychiatrist what can i expect [ Disease ] psychiatrists unlike psychologists do not usually use any type of formal questionnairetests it is usually just an interview that can be as long as one hour or as short as 15 minutes this can be an indication of nothing really and depending on where you go it can be an indication of how long the patient waiting list currently happens to be of course you have problems and the psychiatrist expects you to have them because you are being referred by someone so that is a given the fact that your med has not worked in five weeks may indicate that it is too low a dose or is not the med for you all of this depends on the psychiatrist is experience and training