We conduct medication assessment to help determine your mental health need for psychopharmacological therapy. In meeting with your psychiatric nurse practitioner, your provider will assess your needs and discuss recommendations for your care. This checkup, called an assessment, includes an overview of your symptoms and a determination of whether or not medication is a good option in the treatment of your mental health. Your medication assessment will conclude with an opportunity to ask questions during a discussion of benefits, risks, side effects of medications, as well as alternatives to medical treatment. Psychiatric medications work by influencing chemical processes in your brain. Depending on which medication you have been prescribed and the reasons you are taking them, the rate of recovery can be highly variable.
Although psychiatric medications don’t cure mental illness or solve problems, they can often significantly improve symptoms. Psychiatric medications can also help make other treatments, such as psychotherapy, more effective. Practitioners cannot know in advance what drug will work best for a particular patient without trying them. Practitioners will use a medication trial to figure out which medicine works best for each individual and at what dosage. The trial usually begins with a low dose that is gradually increased at 3–7-day intervals until clinical benefits are achieved. The best medications for you will depend on your particular situation and how your body responds to the medication.