Medication Management
Psychiatrists in Silver Spring, MD
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Medication Management services offered in Silver Spring, MD
Medications can play an important role in helping improve your mental well-being when struggling with a mental illness. At Integrated Health Resources in Silver Spring, Maryland, Ivan Walks, MD, specializes in medication management for psychiatry. Dr. Walks conducts a comprehensive assessment to determine the right diagnosis and provide medication management to ease symptoms. To find out more about medication management, call the office or book your telemedicine appointment online today.
What is medication management?
Medication management is the use of medicines to treat health conditions. Mental health challenges affect your overall health and well-being like any other illness or disease. Medication management is part of the treatment for these conditions, helping ease symptoms and improve quality of life.
Dr. Walks is an experienced psychiatrist at Integrated Health Resources. He takes a comprehensive and integrative approach to care, combining traditional psychiatric treatments with medical care to improve your overall health.
Am I a candidate for medication management?
Dr. Walks determines if you’re a candidate for medication management after he completes your initial assessment. For this comprehensive evaluation, he reviews symptoms and your medical and mental health history, and asks questions to fully understand how you think and feel.
The information Dr. Walks gathers during your assessment helps him diagnose your mental health condition. The right diagnosis allows him to provide the most effective treatment.
Dr. Walks specializes in diagnosing many types of mental health conditions, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Addiction
- Trauma
- Psychosis
Dr. Walks may recommend medication management if you have a mental illness that benefits from psychiatric medication and you have moderate to severe symptoms. He recommends combining medication management with psychotherapy to get the most benefits.
What happens during medication management?
The specifics of your medication management with Dr. Walks at Integrated Health Resources depend on your diagnosis and symptoms. Dr. Walks spends time talking to you about your mental well-being and the types of medications that might ease symptoms.
When starting a new medication, Dr. Walks schedules frequent follow-up appointments to monitor symptoms and make changes to your prescription as needed. Once your symptoms are stable, your follow-ups are less frequent.
The length of your medication management depends on your diagnosis. You may only need psychiatric medication for a few months, or you may need it long-term.
You should only stop taking psychiatric medication when you and Dr. Walks agree that it’s time. He slowly decreases your dose until you reach a level where you can discontinue altogether. Abruptly stopping psychiatric medication may cause severe withdrawal symptoms.
To find out more about medication management, call Integrated Health Resources or schedule an appointment online today.