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10ThingsYouShouldKnowBeforeSeeingaPsychiatrist

Making the decision to see apsychiatrist is abravedecision. Itmeans you recognize you needhelp and this is the first steptowardsrecovery.It is also important to know thatyou are not alone: 1 in 5 peoplehavesomeformofamentalhealthissuethatneedsprofessionalhelp.Tohelpyoufindtherightprofessional,wemadealistof10frequentlyaskedquestions.Whilethisprocessmayseemoverwhelmingatfirst,youshouldknowthattherearemanygreatprofessionalsthatcanhelpyouduringyourtimeofneed.

Whatisthedifferencebetweenapsychiatrist,psychologist,andatherapist?Notallmentalhealthprofessionalshavethesametraining,

degrees,orcredentials.Youshouldbeawarethatdifferentprofessionalshavedifferentskillsandstrengths.Beforeseekingaprofessional,youshouldlearnthedifferencebetweenapsychiatrist,psychologist,andatherapist.PsychiatristApsychiatristisamedicaldoctorwhospecializesinpsychiatry.Psychiatristscomplete4yearsofmedicalschooland4yearsofspecialtytraininginpsychiatry.Becauseoftheirmedicaltraining,theyareabletoprescribemedication.Psychiatristsarealsotrainedinpsychotherapy;however,manypsychiatriststodonotengageinpsychotherapy.Commonly,appointmentswithapsychiatristwillbeabout15-20minuteslongandfocusontheirresponsetomedication.Occasionally,apsychiatristwillseepatientsfor45-50minuteswheretheydiscuss

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medicationsandalsodoapsychotherapysession.Generally,apsychologistortherapistisseenforthesepsychotherapysessionsandapsychiatristisseenwhenmedicationsarenecessary.However,atCPCHweofferbothpsychotherapyandmedicationmanagement.PsychologistApsychologistisageneraltermforsomeonewhocompletesgraduatetraininginpsychology.Somepsychologistsbecomeresearchers,othersbecomeclinicalmentalhealthprofessionals.Inordertobecomealicensedclinicalpsychologist,needanundergraduatedegree(4to5yearsofcollege)plusadoctorateinpsychology(4to7yearsofgraduateschool). Psychologistsareabletoperformpsychotherapy;however,inmoststates,theycannotprescribemedication. TherapistAtherapistissomeonewhoparticipatesinthepsychotherapysessionswithyou.Theseprofessionalsarealsooftenreferredtoaspsychotherapists,counselors,marriageandfamilytherapists,andsocialworkers.Atherapistisrequiredtohaveabachelor’sdegreeintheirfieldofstudy.Sometherapistshaveprofessionalcredentialingandothersdonot.Sometherapistsare“associates”meaningthattheyarestillintrainingandworkwithasupervisingtherapist.

Whataretheareasofexpertiseforapsychiatrist,psychologist,andtherapist?Psychiatristsaretrainedinallaspectsofphysicalandmental

healthsotheycanoffersupportandguidanceinallareas.Furthermore,becausepsychiatristsarehighlyskilledinmedicationmanagement,theymayhavemoreinsightintomorecomplexmentalhealthissuesthanpsychologistsortherapists.Psychiatristsareparticularlyhelpfulwhenthediagnosisisunclear,whentherearemultiplemedicalproblemsinadditiontomentalhealthproblems,orwhenthepatientistakingothermedications.Inthesecases,itcanbeveryhelpfultoworkwithapsychiatristonbothmedicationmanagementandpsychotherapy.

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Psychiatristsmayalsospecializefurtherin:childpsychiatry,addictionandsubstanceusedisorders,adultADD/ADHD,women’shealthissues,geriatricpsychiatry,depression,anxiety,bipolardisorder,andpanicdisorder.Whenlookingforapsychiatrist,youmaywanttofindapsychiatristthatspecializesinwhatyouareseekingtreatmentfor.

Arepsychiatristseasytocommunicatewith?Itiscriticalthatyouareabletoeasilyandeffectivelycommunicatewithyourpsychiatrist.Thisstartsatthevery

beginningwiththefirstphonecall.Ifyou’vecalledapsychiatristandnoonereturnsyourcall,it’sbesttomoveontoanotheroption.Youneedtomakesureyou’recomfortablespeakingwithyourpsychiatrist;otherwisemedicationand/ortherapywon’tbeaseffectiveforyou.Thepsychiatristyouchooseshouldbeeasytotalktoandknowledgeableinhelpingyouunderstandyourfeelings.Yourpsychiatristwillnotjudgeyouandwillalwayskeepyourinformationconfidential;exceptintheeventthatthepsychiatristislegallyobligatedtonotifytheproperauthorities.

Whatarepsychiatristfees?Arepsychiatristsin-networkoroutofnetworkforinsurance?Whenchoosingapsychiatrist,it’simportanttolearnabout

thefeeschargedandthetypeofinsuranceaccepted,ifany.Youmaybefinanciallyresponsibleforyoursessionsifthepsychiatristdoesn’tacceptyourinsuranceorisanoutofnetworkpractice.Besureyou’refullyinformedofthefeeschargedtoavoidsurprises.Manypsychiatristsinprivatepracticenolongeracceptinsuranceandrequirethatpatientssubmitaclaimtotheinsuranceproviderpersonally.Therearemanyreasonsthatmostpsychiatristsareout-of-network.Thesemayincludedifficultywithreimbursements,insurancecontractsthatlimitthepsychiatrist’sabilitytodopsychotherapy,andmandatesonthenumberortypeofvisitswiththepsychiatrist.CPCHisanout-of-networkpractice.HereatCPCH,weacceptallformsofpaymentatthetimeofvisit,thenwefileyourout-of-networkinsuranceclaimselectronicallyforyouasacourtesy.

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Whatarethedifferenttypesofapproachapsychiatristmightusewithapatient?It’simportanttofindoutthepsychiatrist’sapproachto

speakingwithpatientsandprescribingmedications.Youcanaskhowoftenyoushouldexpecttobemeetingwiththepsychiatristandhowlongtheappointmentslast.Theapproachvariesfrompsychiatristtopsychiatristsoit’simportanttounderstandwhatyouneedwhenlookingforaprofessional.Doyouwantyourpsychiatristtoonlyaskabouthowyourmedicationsareworking?Doyouwantthemtoofferyouotheradvice?Doyouwantthemtoaskyouabouthowyourtherapyisprogressing?Psychiatristshavedifferentstylesandyouwillwanttomakesureyoufindtherightpsychiatristforyourmedicationmanagementneeds.Wouldyouratheravoidworkingwithapsychotherapistandjustworkwithapsychiatrist?Somepsychiatristshelpwithbothmedicationmanagementandpsychotherapy,thuseliminatingtheneedforatherapist.Itisimportantforyoutoknowwhichtypeofpsychiatristyouwantand/orneedbeforemakingyourfirstappointment,soyoudonotwastetimeormoney.

Howdopsychiatristshandlemedicationchangesandrefills?Sinceyou’llbeseeingapsychiatristforyourmedications,it’s

importanttounderstandhowthepsychiatristhandlesmedicationandwhatthepolicyisforrequestingrefills.Somepsychiatristswillnotfillrefillswithoutanappointment,otherswillofferrefillsbutitwilltakeanywherefromafewhourstoaweek.Dotheychargeforrefillrequestswithoutanappointment?HereatCPCHweprovidesamedayrefillsandwedochargeasmallfeeformedicationrefillswithoutanappointment.Ourpsychiatristswillalwaysgiveyouenoughmedicationtolastyouuntilyournextscheduledappointment,soyoushouldnotneedrefillsoutsideofanappointmentunlessyoumissyourappointment.

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Doesthepsychiatristhaveurgentorsamedayemergencysessionsavailable?Itiscriticaltoknowhowandwhenyoucanaccessyour

psychiatrist.Howaccessibleisyourpsychiatrist?Dotheyreturnphonecallsthesameday?Dotheyreturnemailsonthesameday?Doyouhaveaccesstoyourdoctorifthereisanemergency?Dotheyoffersamedayurgentappointments?AtCPCHweareverypatient-focusedandyourpsychiatristisavailabletoyou24/7forurgentneeds.

Doesthepsychiatristofferpsychotherapy?Asmentionedinin#5above,somepsychiatristsofferpsychotherapybutmostdonot.Oneadvantageofseeing

yourpsychiatristformedicationandtherapyistosaveyoutime.Ifapsychiatristofferspsychotherapy,besuretoaskifappointmentsformedicationchecksareseparatefrompsychotherapy.Ifthesesessionsarenotcombined,youwillbelookingatafewappointmentspermonth.Combiningmedicationmanagementandpsychotherapyintooneappointmentcansaveyoutimeandmoney.

Whatdothereviewsforthepsychiatristsay?It’simportanttodoyourduediligencebeforecallingpsychiatristsforanappointment.UsetheInternettoyour

advantageandfindprofessionalsinyourarea.Takealookatthereviewsand,ifyoudecidetocall,askthepsychiatristaboutanynegativereviews.Ifyoufindthatthepsychiatristisn’twillingtospeakaboutanynegativereviews,youmaywanttoreconsidermakinganappointment.Anegativereviewcouldsimplybeaconflictinpersonalitybetweenthepsychiatristandformerpatient.It’simportanttofindoutasmuchaspossibletoavoidmakinganappointmentwithapsychiatristthatisn’tagoodfitforyou.

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Howeasyisittoscheduleappointmentswithyourpsychiatrist?Duringyourinitialphonecalltopsychiatrists,besuretoask

aboutappointmenttimesandschedulingprocedures.Manypsychiatriststendtooverbook,leavingpatientswaitingandrushingthroughappointments.It’seasytodetermineifapsychiatristoverbooksbasedonthehoursofoperationandthenumberofpatientsseenperday.Ifapsychiatristisavailablefor8hoursperdayandbooksmorethan15patientsperday,they’reusuallyoverbooking,runningbehind,andmorelikelytoreschedulesessions.Youalsoneedtofindoutaboutthecancellationpolicyasitvariesfromofficetooffice.Somepsychiatristsrequirea24-hournoticetocancelyourappointmentwithoutchargingyouwhileothersrequirea48-hour,orlonger,notice.Toavoidbeingchargedforyourmissedappointment,it’simportanttofindoutaboutthecancellationpolicy.WhatMakesCognitivePsychiatryofChapelHill(CPCH)Different?AtCPCH,weprideourselvesonbeingavailabletoourpatientsatalltimes.Foryourconvenience,weoffereveningandSaturdayappointments.Youcancontactyourpsychiatristwithanurgentneed24/7viaphoneandweofferurgentsamedayornextdayappointments.Wetakeyourcomfortseriouslyandourpatientsenjoyanoutstandinglevelofcare.Someofourfavoritepatientfeaturesinclude:

• Email/Textappointmentreminders• Emailreceipts• Complimentaryelectronicsubmissionofyourout-of-networkclaims

• Freewi-fi• Beverageservice(water,coffee,tea)

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AtCPCH,wecombinepsychiatryandpsychotherapyforinterestedpatients.Thisfeaturebringsallyourmentalhealthneedtogetherinoneplace,andeliminatestheneedformultipleappointmentsfortherapyandmedications.Wegotheextramiletoensurethatyou’refullyeducatedaboutyourmentalhealth.Weofferabookstore,socialmediaupdates,groups,andinformativeemailssothatyounevermissanynewdevelopmentsinmentalhealthoranyupdateswithCPCH.Webelievethatawell-informedpatientisahappypatient.TolearnmoreaboutCPCH,pleasevisitourwebsite,anddon’tforgettoreadourblogforthelatestnewsandupdates.Ifyou’rereadytoscheduleanappointment,pleasecallourofficeat919-636-5240.We’vecreatedthefollowingchecklisttohelpyouinyoursearchforapsychiatrist.Besuretoaskthefollowingquestionswhencallingeachpsychiatristtoensureyoufindtherightpsychiatristforyou.QuestionChecklist1. Isthereawaitinglist?

2. Doyouoffersamedayornextdayappointments?

3. Doyouoffereveningorweekendappointments?

4. Doyouofferpsychotherapy?

5. Whatareyourfees?

6. Doyouacceptinsurance?Inotherwords,areyouin-networkwithinsurance?

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7. Ifso,whattype(s)ofinsuranceisaccepted?

8. Ifyouareout-of-networkforinsurance,doyouofferassistanceinfilingclaimsforreimbursement?

9. Whatisyourcancellationpolicy?

NotesWehopeyoufindthisguidehelpfulinyoursearchforapsychiatrist.Ifyouwouldliketomakeanappointment,pleasecontactourofficeat919-636-5240orinfo@cognitive-psychiatry.com.LiveMentallyHealthy,Dr.JennieByrne