WHAT IS "MEDICATION MANAGEMENT"?
Our mental health is connected with our overall physical health and
sense of well-being. Negative experiences like stress or trauma can leave us
feeling anxious, overwhelmed and depressed. Untreated,
these feelings can lead to behaviors that are destructive to our lives
and relationships.
Just as it is important to have a physical every year with
your doctor, it is just as important to have your mental health checked as well. A psychiatric practitioner will give you an initial
checkup similar to what a primary care provider might do. This checkup
is called an assessment, and it is basically an overview of your
symptoms that will help with the determination of whether or not
medication is a good option to treat your mental health. While, primary care doctors address your physical care, Psychiatric practitioners utilize the form of discussion to get to the core of your mental health concerns.
Based on this assessment, a diagnosis is made and a treatment plan is individualized for each patient. If it’s in the patient’s best
interests, medications will be discussed and education will be provided
on the actions, uses, and side effects of the suggested medication
options. When the patient agrees on a medication and treatment option,
the medication is prescribed for a trial period to observe the
effectiveness. This is the “medication management,” aspect of
psychiatric care. We monitor the effectiveness of medication over a
course of time to determine if the treatment meets the patient’s goals.
Due to how psychiatric medications react differently within a patient’s
brain chemistry, the effectiveness of the medications may vary from
person to person. Every individual is unique. Medications are often
utilized at the same time as other forms of treatment such as
counseling, life management skills, and/or behavioral therapies. Through
careful monitoring and on-going discussion we find the right medication
and treatment plan to improve the patient’s mental health.
The use of prescription medications introduces potential risks and
side effects, as with any medication. These are all discussed in detail,
and weighed against the benefits of the medications, with each patient.
Not all patients and not all psychiatric problems need medicines, but
there are certainly instances where prescription medicines are the best
treatment available to relieve a patient’s suffering. Medicines are
commonly an important and effective part of the treatment of many mental
illnesses to include depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder,
anxiety, panic, sleep problems, attention deficit disorder and several
other disorders.
