The Importance of Integrated Psychiatric Services in Outpatient Addiction Treatment

Substance use disorder is a disease and should be treated as such. It affects not only the body, but also the mind and spirit, which requires a comprehensive, integrated approach to treatment that attends to all three. At Encore’s treatment center in Virginia, our staff includes practitioners with expertise in the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of addiction and its treatment. Our psychiatric nurse practitioner is a critical member of the team at our treatment center in Virginia, offering medical and psychiatric treatment, including assessment, diagnosis, and medication management and prescriptions.

What Psychiatric Services Does Encore Provide?

Encore’s psychiatric nurse practitioner offers a range of services for patients, from the time they step into our treatment center in Virginia to the start of their lives in recovery:

• An initial psychiatric evaluation provides necessary information about a patient’s physical health, medical diagnoses, co-occurring mental health disorders, treatment history, medications, and related medical data that can affect treatment.
• Withdrawal management provides oversight of medication and treatment for withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia and increased anxiety, for example.
• Medication management, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to ease craving symptoms, offers Encore patients a trusted provider who can prescribe and monitor their prescriptions. In addition, the psychiatric nurse practitioner at the treatment center in Virginia can ensure that medications taken for other medical conditions are safe for patients to use.
• Treatment of co-occurring disorders is critical in treating addiction. Encore’s psychiatric nurse practitioner has an integral role in that treatment, from anxiety and mood disorders to post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Participation in treatment planning means that patients at Encore benefit from the medical, psychiatric expertise provided. The psychiatric nurse practitioner actively participates in the initial treatment plan, makes recommendations for changes to the plan as patients progress through treatment, and provides recommendations for the aftercare plan as patients move into recovery.
• Family consultations give spouses, parents, and other family members at our treatment center in Virginia peace of mind, knowing they have access to a board-certified medical care expert who can answer their questions and offer recommendations.

What Sets Psychiatric Services at Encore’s Treatment Center in Virginia Apart?

Encore’s psychiatric nurse practitioner has 10 years of practice experience in outpatient treatment settings and hospitals. She is licensed and board certified in mental health and family practice. She is also an advanced practitioner of holistic treatment approaches.

As a member of the treatment team at our treatment center in Virginia, she is integrated into our patient care model. That’s great news for our patients because it’s not a given in most outpatient treatment centers where psychiatric care providers may not be readily available and are rarely on site at the facility. Because she is a part of our treatment team she participates in our weekly clinical rounds, providing her expertise and recommendations and staying up to date on each patient’s status and progress. She is an active partner in patient therapy, working with our staff therapists to ensure that addiction and mental health treatment are on target, evidence-based, and a good fit for patient needs. When she is not on site, she is on call, with 24-hour-a-day availability for consultation if needed.

Addiction is a biological disorder that requires not only compassionate, expert mental health care but the expert services of a medical health care provider skilled in both mental health and medical care who can work with therapists, recovery coaches, and others to offer comprehensive, effective, targeted treatment.

For more information, contact Encore Recovery today!