Not always, but on occasion, if during the initial evaluation I learn of an underlying illness; I may ask the patient to get some blood work and other tests done. Many times, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms of major mental illnesses can be the result of bodily diseases. This can be to rule out or find the causes of some symptoms. Certain medications may have side effects of raising cholesterol and triglycerides, blood sugar, etc. I believe it is a good idea to check the patient’s labs after we find the medication that works best for them.

Quite often I will see patients with thyroid problems, vitamin D deficiency, diabetes, heart problems or even cancer. It is important that we either treat these ailments or rule them out to determine what is causing the psychiatric symptoms.

I prefer to look at the whole person and to ensure the proper diagnosis before we treat the symptoms. As with all of my patients I will look to my team of counselors, psychologists, medical doctors, and other practitioners to ensure that we are giving the very best care.

We know that most mental health conditions are grounded in organic illnesses or genetics. We can treat the organic illnesses and are still working on identifying genetic markers, to someday treat or even cure those conditions which are genetic. We have made great progress in genetic testing which takes a lot of the guess work out of finding the right medication based on the individual’s genetic profile.