Psychiatric Services

Overcoming mental health challenges can be difficult depending on the patient’s specific conditions. For some therapy provides the tools, support, and practical solutions to accelerate the healing process. However, others may need to enlist the assistance of a psychiatrist to evaluate, diagnose, and receive the needed support. Our team of board-certified psychiatrists is dedicated to helping patients by providing comprehensive, outcome-based care, to support wellbeing. Whether a patient is seeking assistance for the first time or is looking for support with an ongoing condition, IPC stands ready to help.

Our Psychiatric Services

  • Initial Evaluation – The first step is to undergo a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation which gives us a clear picture of your mental health needs and challenges. Through a detailed interview we collect information about symptoms, medical history, and other important factors. The process helps us to gain a complete understanding of underlying conditions needed to develop an accurate diagnosis.
  • Medication Management – Our providers are highly experienced in prescribing and managing psychiatric medications. We take a personalized approach carefully considering symptoms, history, and past response to medications. Ongoing monitoring and adjustments ensure patients receive the highest therapeutic benefits.
  • Treatment of Conditions – Our psychiatrists have experience treating depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and substance abuse.
  • Second Opinion Consultations – For those who have received a previous diagnosis but would like a second opinion, our team can provide an independent evaluation. We will review medical records, conduct an assessment, and offer another perspective with treatment options.

Selecting the appropriate psychiatric care provider is an essential step in the mental health journey. IPC is here to provide the expert care and support needed. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and take the first steps to improving your well-being.

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Psychiatric Services FAQs

The main difference between a psychiatrist and a regular doctor (Primary Care Physician) is that the psychiatrist is a specialist where family doctors are generalists. Both are medical doctors, but psychiatrists have more practice and skill at treating mental health issues.

Depression and anxiety are typically treated with medications, therapy, or a combination of both. In many instances a psychiatrist can prescribe an antidepressant for depression or anxiety and achieve very good results. Others find therapy to be a useful adjunct for building coping skills and strategies for life stressors. Depression and anxiety are often treated with SSRI’s like Prozac, Zoloft, or Celexa or SNRI’s such as Wellbutrin. Psychiatrists are comfortable prescribing a much wider variety of medications than a family doctor would. Psychiatrists are better at dosing and augmenting medications to improve or enhance the benefits of a medication.

If depression and anxiety are left untreated, they tend to get worse over time. What starts out mild can quickly become moderate to severe. Whether you prefer medication or therapy, it’s important to do something. Medication is effective for 60-70% of people. Around 60% of people respond well to their medication within two months and experience a 50% reduction in symptoms. Interestingly, about 50-60% of people don’t get much benefit from their first antidepressant trial. This is where working with a psychiatrist can be beneficial. They are more skilled at finding a combination or alternative to get the desired results. In sum, so long as you select some type of treatment for your depression and anxiety, things typically improve

This first appointment typically runs for about 45-60 minutes in length. Like virtually every other medical specialist, your psychiatrist needs more time during the first appointment to get to know you and your history. This is probably the most important appointment you will have with your psychiatrist. The psychiatrist’s main objective is to come up with a diagnosis for what may be going on with you. The diagnosis they arrive at will determine the medication and treatment they choose for you. Psychiatrists don’t want to waste your time or money. They want to get it right the first time so appropriate treatment can begin right away, and relief can be achieved as soon as possible. The information you supply to your psychiatrist is vital and needs to be as accurate as possible.

Psychiatrists will be asking dozens of questions in a number of different areas of your life. They will first ask you why you are here and want to hear your insights and perspectives as to what you think may be going on. After all, you have been living and dealing with the problems, so you know better than anyone about what you are experiencing. Based on what you tell them, and the psychiatrist formulation of symptoms you report, they will start narrowing down possible diagnoses. They will be asking you about a variety of symptoms to determine if a particular diagnosis is fitting.

More broadly, they will also want to know some general information about you, so they have a broader context. They will ask about your occupation, education, financial or legal stressors, family and relationships as well as any stressors related to them. The psychiatrist will spend a great deal of time getting a very thorough medical history from you to include previous treatments and medications, what worked or didn’t, and family medical history and what medications other family members may have taken and whether they worked. Gathering this information beforehand can be very helpful to your psychiatrist. Genetics plays a big role in many mental health disorders and also plays a role in medications. Often a medication that worked for a close family member is likely to work well for you too.

After the initial intake, typically your psychiatrist will prescribe a medication and then ask you see you back in a month to check in and see how you are tolerating the medication and if you are getting relief. Follow-up appointments are typically 30 minutes. They will ask you about side effects and make decisions about adjusting the dose of the medication or switching to another medication based on what you report. It is important to take your medication everyday and pay attention to things you notice whether positive or negative so you can report this to your psychiatrist. The information you provide will guide the next steps. After the medication is working well and no further changes are needed, follow-up appointments often get shorter and are less frequent.

Symptoms can vary with the diagnosis. Those with depression and anxiety often struggle with poor sleep, appetite, low energy, poor concentration, muscle tension, irritability, and moodiness. Some symptoms can get quite bad like panic attacks, feelings of hopelessness or even suicidal ideation. Bipolar disorder has manic symptoms that can get quite serious and lead to hospitalization. Schizophrenia symptoms can include delusions and hallucinations. Often what starts out as mild symptoms, left untreated, can quickly become moderate or severe. It’s important to be proactive and not suffer unnecessarily. Psychiatrists are able to help, and treatment can provide relief. How fast symptoms go away depends on the diagnosis, severity, and medication used.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) like Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, and Celexa are designed to block the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain and allow more serotonin to be left floating in the brain, which improves depression and anxiety. It can take 3-5 weeks to build up in your system. Psychiatrists will tell you that it is important to continue taking your SSRI’s so you stay in the therapeutic range, otherwise reuptake will start to occur less often, and symptoms can worsen.

Although bipolar is quite rare overall, mania is very serious, and relief is often needed quickly. Mood stabilizers are designed to keep manic symptoms at bay, and most are prescribed by psychiatrists. Often the medication will start working in two weeks but may need up to 4-6 weeks to fully work. Antipsychotics, often used to treat schizophrenia, are sometimes used to treat bipolar disorder as well. Those can start working within days but could take 3-8 weeks to reach full effect.

There are a couple of classes of medication that are fast acting. Stimulant medications are used to treat ADHD. A psychiatrist may prescribe Adderall for ADHD, and it is often working within 20-30 minutes and symptoms can be relieved. Those medications don’t last very long and typically wear off by the end of the day. Anxiolytics like Benzodiazepines are also very fast acting and sedating. They are used to manage anxiety or aid with sleep. Like stimulants, they don’t last very long. Psychiatrists are very careful with these medications because they are controlled substances which can be abused or people can develop dependence on them, especially the Benzodiazepines.

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