Mental Health Meds: Tips and Tricks for Finding a Provider

One of the most powerful and important tools for treating mental health and addiction, outside of doing just therapy, is through the use of medications. I'm Evan, your resident mental health and addiction therapist. And even though I have a breadth of experience and knowledge about treating mental health disorders, sometimes therapy isn't enough. Sometimes we could use a little bit of help. And some of the best research out there shows that the best outcomes come from doing therapy approaches in tandem with medications.

I find that a huge gap in our mental health treatment system is the ability to access these medications. They may be very helpful, but if you can't get them, that's not much good. So in this video, I'm gonna break down the different types of clinicians that are able to prescribe medications, the differences between them and how you can find them. So here are the four different disciplines that can prescribe medications, starting with the first, who are probably the most qualified and that are psychiatrists.

These are medical doctors who went to medical school and they specialize in mental health and often addiction. They're great to go to, especially in more complicated cases or if you've tried elsewhere and it hasn't worked out. These individuals, though, are the hardest to find often and find ones with openings because there are so few of them. However, there are some other good options and here they are. Next, we have psychiatric nurse practitioners. And these individuals have been growing in popularity and can also work independently in more and more states.

These individuals are highly trained. They come from the nursing discipline, but often go on to get a master's or even a doctorate. They're highly qualified and they're great option if you can't find a psychiatrist or they're just great options in general. Next, we have physicians assistants. And these individuals, like nurse practitioners, you could find working in in various disciplines of medicine. Now, they can operate independently. However, they do operate under the supervision of a medical doctor.

They are also highly knowledgeable and could be a great option for getting meds. And last, we have general practitioners like family medicine doctors or pediatricians. And they are so crucial for filling in the gaps where we lack care, like in rural areas. Now, these individuals don't have that specialty in psychiatry per se. However, they have a lot of experience and are able to prescribe meds for things like depression and anxiety. Some of the things that are most common also like ADHD. So they tend to have a lot of experience and background in this.

So if you're not able to access one of the more specialty providers, they are a great option. So now that you know of all these disciplines. The big question then is, how do you access these providers? It's not always easy. I recommend doing things like going on psychology today, which is a huge directory of therapists and med providers. You can just do a simple Google search to see who's around you, who does psychiatry. Another great option is to call your insurance company to see who is in network with your insurance provider, also getting a referral from your therapist or a friend family member who has a medication provider that they like.

In the end, you have to do what's right for you and your mental health care. That may mean going to therapy, doing therapy with medications or medications, or loan. Everybody is different. But if seeking a medical provider that can give you medication seems like the right option for you, go see one of those providers. It can be very beneficial and have helped many people, including myself.