If you are looking for help with your substance abuse problem, you might want to look into setting an appointment with a psychiatrist. To help you understand just how that might be helpful, you will want to check out the following points.
Dual-Diagnosis
In many cases, those who suffer from a substance abuse problem have a mental health issue that needs to be addressed at the same time. For example, you might suffer from depression. Whether the depression led to the substance abuse or the substance abuse led to the depression, it needs to be professionally treated. After all, trying to stay clean and sober might prove difficult if you are having trouble with emotional issues. Depending on the level of mental illness, your psychiatrist might prescribe medication. Then again, you might just start off with counseling and light therapy.
Insightful Referrals
Whether you need to find a rehab clinic, a few reputable substance abuse meetings, or a drug and alcohol mentor, your psychiatrist should have no problem referring you to the right places. It is vital to make sure that you are not just getting help for yourself, but that you are getting the best help possible. Also, depending on your needs at home, you could be referred to a social worker that can help you in many areas of your life, such as with employment or getting signed up for various government programs.
Gets Family On The Same Page
It is important for the success of your recovery that your close family members are on the same page as you. They are your support system, so they will want to make sure that they are doing and saying things that are beneficial to you. Should you find that you have family that is not understanding of your substance abuse problem or your road to recovery, you will want to them come to a few sessions with your psychiatrist. Your doctor can even refer your family to meetings that are designed with the people like them in mind: people who are bystanders to their loved ones' recovery.
As you can see, there are clearly a lot of things that you can do in order to make sure that you are giving yourself the best shot at a successful journey. All you have to do now is make sure that you are finding the best psychiatrists for your substance abuse recovery needs.
Share8 May 2015
My name is Katie Langer. For a long time, I was bed ridden and I felt like I had no control over my life. I simply went along with what was instructed by my doctor and I didn't ask questions. It wasn't that my doctor wasn't willing to work with me, but I preferred to simply not think about the illness I was suffering from. I didn't realize that some of the symptoms I was suffering from were side effects of my medication and were not normal. After communicating more with my doctor, I was able to alleviate my symptoms. Since then, I've taken an interest in patient-doctor relationships and how to improve them.
