counselor discussing lamictal vs lithium with client

Lamictal vs. Lithium for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental health condition characterized by significant changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. This condition affects millions of people worldwide and can be debilitating if left untreated. Fortunately, there are effective treatments available for bipolar disorder, including medication therapy. Two of the most common medications used to treat bipolar disorder…

Counselor and client discussing the difference between mat and moud

What’s the Difference Between MAT and MOUD?

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs have become popular for treating opioid use disorder. What’s the difference between MAT and MOUD? MAT programs involve medications, counseling, and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders. In contrast, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) refer to using medication as a stand-alone treatment. Understanding these concepts and their differences is…

a person benefits from professional medication management

What Is the Importance of Medication Management?

Medications are common for treating a host of health issues. Moreover, many people require multiple medications at once to manage their disease or disorder. This is particularly true for the elderly population, which is naturally at risk of more complications as their bodies and minds age. Medication management is the process of coordinating prescription and…

a woman has her medications properly managed by a confident professional

5 Benefits of Medication Management

Prescribing medications to address mental health concerns is not something doctors do lightly. They prescribe these medications with the belief that they can improve people’s mental health and quality of life. Medical professionals also understand that care extends beyond the mere prescription. This is an approach called medication management. Medication management comes from recognizing that…

What Medications Do and What They Don’t

This is a big question for patients. It speaks to individual and societal expectations that we collectively heap onto medications. We see advertisements with happier faces after taking a specific drug, that we should “Talk to your doctor about.” We know of people who are taking antianxiety and antidepressant medications for mental health symptoms ranging…

medication-assisted treatment for alcohol

Benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Alcohol

Millions of Americans develop alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. When you become physically dependent on a substance like alcohol, you may need a mix of medical treatment and behavioral therapy to recover. Alcoholism is an illness that can be difficult to diagnose and treat because alcohol is so prevalent in daily life.…

person holding pill bottle piecemeal prescribing

Problems with Piecemeal Prescribing

Problems with Piecemeal Prescribing As a practicing psychiatrist, I see many patients. Many have psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, depressed mood, low energy, and irritability. My first task is to address the symptoms that trouble my patient the most in the safest, most practical way possible. Unfortunately, many are increasingly presenting with a list…