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THERAPY OPTIONS FOR GENERAL PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS
Medication:
 Most patients seeking traditional psychiatric treatment are
placed on medication. Modern medicines are extremely effective with
a low side-effect profile. They can make major differences in
peoples' lives, relationships and work environment. Although many
people do not like to take medication, it is worth a trial to see if:
- It offers an appreciable difference,
- There are few or no side effects.
If either of these criteria are not met, we recommend not
taking medication. But when they work, most people are grateful for
having given it a fair trial. It may take several attempts on
different medicines to know which one is needed for a response, but the
only real downside is the time it takes to figure it out.
An alternative to pharmacologic drugs is the more natural
approach. There are some herbs and nutrient supplements that do
indeed offer relief for the milder symptoms. Here are a few
examples:
 St. John's Wort - depression
SAM -E - depression, joint pain, fibromyalgia
Kava - anxiety
Ginkgo Biloba - memory
Ginseng - energy
Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3 Fish Oils) - ADHD, bipolar
Pycnogenol or Grape Seed Extract - ADHD
Valerian - sleep
These can be found in most health food stores, pharmacies,
or grocery stores. Be careful, however, of the following:
There are side effects and drug interactions of which you need to be aware.
The dosing on the bottle is not always the correct amount needed to treat the problem,
Not all products are the same - in fact studies have shown that the amount of product actually getting to the cell for use can vary among laboratories from 10-90% (known as "bioavailability").
None of these are tested by the FDA, so be careful of claims made as there is still a lot we don't know,
Psychotherapy:
No discussion is complete without mentioning the basis of
psychiatry's foundation. Psychotherapy is still the main-stay of
mental health. Two modern concepts have altered its appearance.
- Most managed care insurance companies either do not credential
psychiatrists to do psychotherapy or reimburse so little so as to make
it economically impractical to provide it to patients. Most
psychotherapy is now provided by psychologists and licensed
therapists. Please see
Meet Our
Staff
for a description of our therapists and their philosophies.
In the presence of biological or chemical imbalances, psychotherapy
will not be beneficial until the underlying physical component is
diagnosed and treated.
Our therapists have a wide range of expertise including backgrounds in
nutrition, hypnosis, and EMDR. They have experience in marital/sex
therapy, parent/child problems, trauma and its after effects, anxiety,
depression and substance abuse. Being able to provide psychotherapy
services, in addition to our other services, has proved to be an essential
component of our success. We have found that when a patient's
therapist has an ability to easily communicate with other caregivers, that
the patient receives much more thorough care. This is especially
true with patients who may see Dr. Hoffman for medications while in
therapy with one of our therapists. What we find and patients report
is that the exchange of information and support is extremely beneficial,
both to the patients and the staff. |
