{"id":1098,"date":"2020-05-17T11:40:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T11:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/?p=1098"},"modified":"2020-12-23T12:55:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T12:55:13","slug":"qualified-mental-health-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/qualified-mental-health-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Mental Health Professional"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you think you might be experiencing a mental health condition such as major depression (also called clinical depression) or generalized anxiety disorder, I often find it\u2019s best for you to consult with qualified mental health professionals. List of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/mental-health-counseling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mental health physicians in Hialeah<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that we recommend when you call our medical practice at (305) 614-3677 is long, but I like to offer these additional tips to help my patients find a psychiatrist that is a good match for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>When to See a Psychiatrist<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You should see a psychiatrist any time you feel like you are experiencing a mental health issue. And if you think you do have a mental illness, don\u2019t feel alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nami.org\/Home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an organization that tracks mental illness prevalence and statistics in the United States, 1 in 5 &#8211; or 20% &#8211; of American adults experience a mental illness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A psychiatrist is a doctor with special training and experience in diagnosing mental health conditions and treating them with antidepressants, antipsychotics, hypnotics, anti-anxiety medications and other pharmaceuticals. Finding a psychiatrist can help you get on a treatment plan that will make you feel better and offer you relief from the mental anguish you\u2019re feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But how do you know if you\u2019re experiencing a mental health condition? Here are some clues that you might be experiencing some of the more common mental health diagnoses:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Major Depression<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everyone has a bad day, or a series of bad days, from time to time. Feeling down or depressed at times is pretty much a guarantee in life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, if you\u2019ve had a depressed mood every day for at least two straight weeks, you could be suffering from major depression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to feeling sad and crying a lot, depression symptoms can include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">General discontentment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Feelings of guilt that aren\u2019t justifiable<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Feelings of hopelessness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sleep disturbances such as insomnia<\/span><\/span>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Generalized Anxiety Disorder<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Living with anxiety can feel like you\u2019re never able to set aside your worries, or that you worry about things that intuitively, you know don\u2019t require the level of concern you\u2019re giving them. You may also feel a constant sense of impending doom. Additional symptoms of an anxiety disorder include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hypervigilance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Irritability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Restlessness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lack of concentration<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Racing thoughts<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Unwanted or intrusive thoughts<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Bipolar Disorder<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This mental illness, which used to be called manic depression, is categorized by having episodes of depression and episodes of mania, or extreme highs,\u00a0 in the same 12-month time period. In addition to experiencing the depression symptoms listed above, people living with bipolar disorder also experience the following mania symptoms:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">High energy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reduced need for sleep<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Loss of touch with reality<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Impulsivity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Participating in risky behaviors and actions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you\u2019re experiencing any of these common mental illnesses, you need to see a mental health specialist for diagnosis and treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1100 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder.jpg\" alt=\"Bipolar Disorder\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Bipolar-Disorder.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to Find a Good Psychiatrist<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The list of psychiatrists that I recommend to my patients are mental health specialists whom I know and have vetted and whom I feel comfortable referring my patients to. After all, as my patient, you mean a lot to me and when I\u2019m referring you to another physician I want to know they are going to take great care of you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You may want to find additional social proof that the psychiatrist you are going to see &#8211; who will be an important part of your overall medical wellness treatment plan &#8211; is a good fit for you. Great places to look for recommendations from current and past patients include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A psychiatry practice\u2019s Google Business page, where current and past patients can volunteer to rate the psychiatrist and share their experiences with the practice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A psychiatrist\u2019s professional social media page, such as a Facebook page where he or she may share information to patients who choose to follow him and her about mental health tips. Facebook pages also include a rating and recommendations feature similar to those found on Google Business pages.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Healthcare rating sites such as healthgrades.com, which crowdsources information about physicians that are volunteered by their current and past patients.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How to Get a Psychiatrist Appointment<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When you call to book an appointment with your desired psychiatrist, you may find that his or her schedule is so packed that it will take several weeks or even a month or two for you to get in for an appointment. This is because, unfortunately, the mental health sector of our country\u2019s healthcare industry is understaffed given the high need for qualified mental health professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some tips for getting a psychiatry appointment as soon as possible include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asking if the psychiatrist also works with a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Oftentimes, psychiatric nurse practitioners have more open schedules and they too are knowledgeable about mental illnesses and the best treatment plans and medications for certain mental health conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Schedule an appointment with your desired psychiatrist, but ask to be put on a waitlist so you can be called when other patients make last-minute appointment cancelations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">See if there are any psychiatrists covered by your health insurance plan who offer telemedicine appointments, which are oftentimes more flexible than standard, face-to-face appointments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Seeing a Mental Health Specialist for Counseling<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While I urge all of my patients who think they may be experiencing mental illness to see a psychiatrist for a proper diagnosis and medication management, there are other mental health specialists who should be a part of your care team. Most importantly, you should have a counselor that you meet with on a regular basis &#8211; such as once a week or once every other week &#8211; to discuss your mental illness, your symptoms and stressors and to learn tools for coping with your feelings and symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counseling can take on many forms. Some of my patients prefer:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One on one counseling with a counselor of a specific gender<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Same-gender group counseling sessions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One on one counseling via telemedicine appointments<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whatever counseling structure best suits your preferences, you are likely to find a great counselor who serves the Hialeah, Florida area either in person or online.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What your counseling sessions will look like will be highly dependent on the counselor you choose, his or her counseling specialty and the goals the two of you set for your counseling sessions. For example, you may choose:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Talk therapy, during which time you talk about current or past stressors, trauma, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is a type of counseling that is focused on being shorter in duration and very goal oriented.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which is a form of CBT that is focused on stopping negative thought patterns.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whatever you and your counselor decide is best for you, I wish you well on your journey to overall mental wellness and am here to support you every step of the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1101 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling.jpg\" alt=\"Seeing a Mental Health Specialist for Counseling\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-200x112.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/Seeing-a-Mental-Health-Specialist-for-Counseling.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>Make it a Priority to See Your Mental Health Specialists Regularly<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes, people who are experiencing depression or anxiety start taking medication and immediately start to feel better. They then falsely assume that they\u2019re cured and they\u2019re no longer depressed or anxious. The reality, though, is that the medication and counseling are working and the patient needs to continue his or her treatment plan in order to achieve full remission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember, if your psychiatrist prescribes you medication, take it exactly as prescribed and never suddenly stop taking it, which can cause harmful side effects. Go to every counseling session you have scheduled until you and your counselor have determined it&#8217;s time for you to graduate from counseling.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you think you might be experiencing a mental health condition such as major depression (also called clinical depression) or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[64,65],"tags":[67,70,71,66,68,69],"class_list":["post-1098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mental-health","category-psychiatrist","tag-how-to-find-a-good-psychiatrist","tag-how-to-get-a-psychiatrist","tag-mental-health-physicians","tag-mental-health-specialist","tag-qualified-mental-health-professionals","tag-when-to-see-a-psychiatrist"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/carreras-medical-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}