What to Expect During an Initial Appointment
If you have health insurance, contact your provider for referrals to in-network providers. Ask about the payment structure for specialized services provided by psychologists and psychiatrists. (The latter are medical doctors who can prescribe medication.) If you have to pay out-of-pocket, determine whether you will be partially reimbursed after filing a claim. For those who do not have mental health benefits, consider requesting an assessment by your child’s school and/or visiting the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board to access its behavioral health services.
When you call to make an appointment with a mental health care provider, ask what type of assessment will be conducted (i.e., verbal, written and/or interactive); if they take insurance; and what type of payment is accepted. During the initial visit, there will be paperwork to complete, including personal information and a brief description of the presenting problem.
Parents and guardians should remember that due to confidentiality concerns, there are limits on what they can be told. It may be helpful to discuss these during the first visit. If your child is 18 or older, having him or her sign a “release of information” form will ensure that you can legally talk to his or her mental health care provider and that the individual will be able to answer freely. (They will always be able to act upon information that you provide regardless.)
The person conducting the initial assessment likely will ask about your symptoms, your and your family’s history of depression and other mental health conditions, your medical history and any alcohol or drug use. He or she may offer an opinion as to whether further treatment is necessary. Each provider has a different area of expertise, which may be more or less effective for a particular mental health condition.
The first form of treatment that a patient undergoes may not be the most beneficial. It is important to recognize that numerous options are available, including combining multiple approaches and seeing a different provider. Therapy is not synonymous with friendship. An effective mental health care professional will challenge you and help you see things from a different perspective, even if what he or she says may sometimes be difficult to hear.
Remember to watch the impact of any psychiatric medications for the first six weeks. Antidepressants can improve a patient’s energy level before his or her mood, allowing him or her to act on negative feelings to self harm. In reality, individuals need to take regular doses of an antidepressant for 4 to 6 weeks in order to experience its full effects. To avoid a recurrence of depression, mental health experts advise that medication be taken for at least a year after patients have stopped feeling any symptoms. Antidepressants should then be tapered off gradually under a clinician’s guidance to avoid unpleasant side effects.
Parents should ensure that their children’s mental health care providers communicate necessary information to their other doctors. It also is important to develop working relationships with therapists/psychiatrists/psychologists and seek to partner with them as much as possible, establishing rapport during periods of relative calm.