Mental Healthcare: Where to Start

Dr. Stephen Manlove at Manlove Brain and Body Health speaking to woman about where to start with mental healthcare.Once someone decides that it’s time to take control of their mental health, it can be hard to know where to start. Do I see a therapist or a psychiatrist? Do I need medication like ketamine? This blog will walk you through the best approach to start on your mental healthcare journey and provide an overview of the different resources available to help you get started. While these steps are intended for those who have not yet addressed their mental health concerns with a provider, this may also be a useful guide for those who have already started to seek help by seeing where they are in the process and understanding their options for possible next steps.

Before we jump into the steps you should take, it is important to understand the definitions of the three main groups of healthcare providers that we will refer to throughout this article: 

  • Primary Care Providers – This is your main healthcare provider who you see for non-emergency medical care. This may be an MD (such as your family physician), DO, PA, or NP who provides general medical support on a long-term basis and may refer you to specialists for certain medical concerns.
  • Mental Health Providers – This group of providers includes counselors, social workers, and psychologists. These individuals primarily provide counseling and nonmedical support.
  • Psychiatrists – These are medical doctors who specialize in mental healthcare. They can prescribe medication, perform diagnostic tests, and may perform medical procedures as necessary.

Now that you have an understanding of the different types of providers we will be referring to, let’s take a look at how to get started with mental healthcare and the next steps that may be needed along the way.

Step 1: Schedule an appointment with your primary care provider to discuss your concerns. They will ask you a series of questions to get a better understanding of your depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health related symptoms. Your primary care provider will discuss potential ways to mitigate your symptoms. This initial care may include medication, a referral to a mental health provider, or lifestyle changes – including diet, exercise, or meditation. 

Many primary care providers may suggest starting with lifestyle changes if you have not already tried these on your own before trying medication. However, depending on the severity of your symptoms, your primary care provider may suggest starting with a combination of the treatment options above. 

Step 2: Take the next step suggested by your healthcare provider to begin care. Be sure to stick to the plan consistently – this will be the best way to help yourself and your provider make the best decision for your next phase of treatment if needed.

Step 3: After beginning your care, evaluate the effectiveness of your treatment with your primary care provider roughly one month into your treatment. If you have not seen significant improvement, repeat steps 1 and 2 adding additional layers of treatments as needed.

Step 4: If you have tried repeating steps 1 and 2, trying lifestyle changes, medication, and seeing a mental healthcare provider and still have not found relief, it may be time to see a psychiatrist, particularly if you’ve tried multiple antidepressants with no relief. Ask your healthcare provider for a referral to a psychiatry clinic such as Manlove Brain + Body Health (MB+BH). 

Step 5: Meet with a psychiatrist to determine the best treatment plan for you. Your treatment plan may include trying additional medications to find the right fit for you. Depending on the psychiatrist you see, if you have tried a few medications and still have not found relief, you may be offered new treatment options including ketamine, esketamine, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). These treatment options work differently than traditional antidepressant medications and have been very successful for many patients who have not gotten the help they need from antidepressants. TMS is a great option for those who are interested in a non medication option for treating depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Read the articles below to learn more about these treatment options:

Your psychiatrist will also likely recommend that you continue the lifestyle changes recommended by your primary healthcare provider. Diet, exercise, and meditation help improve your mental health and may even help improve your responsiveness to your treatment. 

About Manlove Brain + Body Health

At MB+BH, we take a holistic approach to improve your overall health and increase the brain’s responsiveness to treatment. Our trained mental healthcare providers use genetic testing and laboratory blood analysis to tailor each patient’s treatment regimen to maximize overall brain and body health. By understanding a patient’s hormones, inflammation markers, minerals and more, the team at MB+BH can personalize your treatment plan to give you the highest chance of success possible. Without getting a full understanding of the patient’s medical history, it’s easy to just treat the symptoms rather than the underlying cause of the symptoms. Taking this time with our patients is a large reason why MB+BH patients see lasting improvement in their mental health. 

Specializing in treatment resistant depression, MB+BH offers hard to find treatment options such as TMS, ketamine, and esketamine (Spravato). Dr. Stephen Manlove is the only psychiatrist offering TMS treatments in the Black Hills area. 

Learn more about Manlove Brain + Body Health at manlovehealth.com.