Ykhjuy

In my novel, the protagonist is divorced and moves from London to another city in Britan. The setting is 2013 and in all cases, as I have written the circumstances and situation of the protagonist who is depressed and stressed out, in a real life such person will go to a psychiatrist. This will be a realistic scenario.

But if I introduce a doctor I will have to create a realistic dialogue exchange which will fill a few pages, which is fine, but this is not related to the central plot of the story. Dr.Williams, as I am calling him, is not even a supporting character. It's just something I am thinking she will do to take help till the time, the next part of the story begins. My protagonist comes out of depression with some other things she goes through.

Is it a good practice to introduce such side story just to make sure the reader thinks the story is realistic?

You have a realistic effect that follows from the situation that you've put your character in, but that effect isn't interesting, nor does it affect the story in any significant way. The solution is have it happen off screen.

You have the MC eat, realistically they'd have to use the toilet. But you don't necessarily write about them using the toilet, right? Same here. If you feel it is necessary for the character to go to a psychologist, and for the reader to be aware of the fact, you can mention it in passing - something might happen while she's on the way to/from a meeting with him. This "something" should be plot-relevant, of course.

So when in the story does this occur? Close to the beginning? The Climax? The Middle? This can be used to show rather than tell that your character is depressed by having her talk out the issues with the therapist listening and providing some clinical talk of very little importance that does little to help the actual situation... sometimes this is all therapy is as you have to figure it out yourself. There are some ways to run this so that it's not his advice that is important but something he says that re-frames the central issue. Perhaps he offers advice that is on it's face stupid, but when applied deeper can show something she is missing from her own estimation of the situation. Another thing is to allow her to monolog the situation as it currently stands and allow her to ask the important question she needs to consider, only to run into the one response every therapist in fiction always has ("I'm sorry, we're out of time.") allowing her to guide herself to the crux of the issue.

Leave them out

You don't seem to want to write about or develop the doctor and they don't seem to have much value to you. If that is the case then you should probably leave them out. The simplest way to do that is simply have the MC think/talk about their sessions with their psychiatrist without ever writing about the sessions directly.

However two other things to consider:

• I reject the idea that everyone in 2013 with mental health issues goes to see a psychiatrist. Treating mental health is not at all ubiquitous and it is certainly not a matter of course. Plenty of people live with depression without seeking professional help. If you are having your MC go to a doctor because you think it implausible that someone wouldn't or because you just want to fill some space then reconsider it entirely. (Note: I am not suggesting that people shouldn't seek mental health services, simply that they often don't.)


• Conversely, I also challenge you to consider using the doctor if you think you can do something with them. Developing a character that the MC interacts with in a way that is compartmentalized from their other interactions could prove valuable. It provides you with a vehicle for exposition as the MC discusses their life. It provides a way of presenting the MC with altering viewpoints. The obvious downside is as you noted: You need to develop the character.