Psychiatric Services
Overview of Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric medication services are provided through Counseling & Psychological Services in partnership with Mantra Health, a telemental health platform. Psychiatric services are available to full-time undergraduate and graduate students. A student must be referred by one of the therapists in the center and the student must maintain an ongoing relationship with a therapist in order to receive psychiatric services. Psychiatric services are intended for students who do not have easy access to a community psychiatrist.
The Mantra Health psychiatric nurse practitioner (NP) is available virtually 4 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters. The NP is not available over the summer or during breaks. Due to the limited availability of the NP, students are encouraged to keep their scheduled appointments. After two consecutively missed appointments with the NP, any remaining appointments will be deleted from the schedule for the remainder of the semester and a referral to a community psychiatric provider will be given.
What to expect at your first appointment?
Your first appointment will be about 60 minutes long. During this time the NP will ask you questions to get to know you and understand the difficulties that you are experiencing. Questions about your mental health history, family mental health, medical conditions, and family medical conditions may also be asked. Toward the end of the appointment the NP will discuss with you her recommendations moving forward, your treatment plan, and a follow-up appointment will be scheduled. Some further testing or lab work may be requested of you to ensure you are receiving the best care possible.
For Psychiatric services to be most effective....
- Keep a diary of symptoms, experiences, and overall moods so the NP can best understand what you are experiencing on a daily basis.
- Come with questions written down so you do not forget them once the session starts.
- Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand.
- Keep your scheduled appointments.
- Take your medication as prescribed and be aware when refills are approaching.