Medication Management
Many psychiatric disorders will require multiple approaches for successful treatment: medication combined with psychotherapy or counseling. A psychiatric nurse practitioner can prescribe medication to help with anything from ADHD to anxiety to depression. Medication management is a vital part of this equation, since not all medications will be received or tolerated by patients in the same way.
That’s why monitoring medications, their side effects, and their possible interactions with other medications is critical. A big part of what psychiatric nurse practitioners do is provide psychiatric medication management and assessment. This can seem pretty scary, especially if you’ve never taken such medications before or have taken them before but experienced bad side effects.
There can certainly be a lot of unknowns; however, understanding how a psychiatric nurse practitioner can help you and truly knowing what medication management means is key to feeling comfortable and at ease with the recommended treatment plan.
At Complete Wellness, our Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners have extensive experience in providing medication management for individuals in a wide variety of settings, from hospitals and prisons to private offices and churches. Our clinicians' diagnostic skills and prescriptive privileges enable them to treat a wide variety of psychiatric disorders including but not limited to anxiety, depressive, psychotic, co-occurring and bipolar disorders, ADHD, substance abuse and dependence.
Because mental well-being is directly connected to overall physical health, stress and trauma can leave anyone feeling anxious, hopeless and overwhelmed. When these feelings go untreated for long periods of time, major psychological and physical illnesses can result. In addition, associated behaviors can become addictive and destructive.
That’s why it’s equally as important to have regular physicals and checkups from your primary care physician. The other part of the equation is to get regular mental health checkups too.
It is important to note that not all patients and not all psychiatric problems require medicine. Howevere, there are instances where prescription medicines are the best way to relieve symptoms for the patient.
We accept patients of all ages from 6 years and up.
Medication management visits require an hour for the first visit and 15 to 30 minutes for subsequent visits. During your appointment, your psychiatric nurse practitioner will review the benefits and side effects of your medication and make adjustments as required. Counseling and psychotherapy may also be recommended depending on your specific diagnosis and needs.
Clients who may need psychiatric medication receive education and safe prescription of their medication.
Our experienced psychiatric nurse practitioners, Jessica Sullivan, and Kate Crosby, bring a strong spirituality to our practice, believing that our office is a sacred space where miracles take place on a daily basis.
What to Expect
When you first see your psychiatric nurse practitioner, she will perform an initial checkup called an assessment, which will include an overview of your symptoms and collection of your medical history. A determination will then be made about whether or not the medication is a viable option for treating your particular mental health disorder.
Based on this assessment, the practitioner will then make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan designed with your specific needs in mind. The decision is ultimately up to the patient. If it is decided to move forward with this option, various medications, possible side effects, and proper dosages will be discussed.
Initially, the medication will be prescribed for a trial period to observe and monitor its effectiveness. This is where the “medication management” portion of psychiatric care comes into play. If the treatment is meeting the patient’s goals, the patient will be advised to keep moving forward. However, different medications affect brain chemistry in different ways, so not everyone will respond well to a particular prescription.
This may result in side effects like the inability to sleep, irritability, nausea, and more. In those cases, a different medication will be prescribed. This is often a trial-and-error process that should eventually result in the right medication for you.