Counseling and Psychological Services

Medication and Psychopharmacology

Our psychiatrists work closely as a team with our psychologists, social workers and postdoctoral fellows. Prior to your first visit with a psychiatrist, you will usually meet with a Counseling and Psychological Services counselor who will spend time learning about your symptoms, personal history and present circumstances. In this way, when you meet with your psychiatrist, he or she will already have background information, and be able to use your time together to focus on the aspects of your health and health care needs that, as physicians, psychiatrists are uniquely qualified to explore. To schedule your first evaluation, please contact Counseling and Psychological Services.

To accommodate all students who need services, our psychiatrists do not conduct psychotherapy, but instead focus on medication consultation and management. We have a large staff of psychologists and social workers from whom you can select if you are seeking psychotherapy.

During your first visit, your psychiatrist will conduct a thorough assessment of your symptoms, your family’s medical history, and your personal medical history to evaluate the potential benefits of medication as a treatment option. He or she may request basic medical information, such as blood pressure or lab results, from Medical Services. In some instances, your psychiatrist may conclude that medication is not appropriate for your condition. Otherwise, he or she will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of medication as a treatment choice, so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you would like to try medication.

 

Your initial visit is ordinarily from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Again, sometimes the visit may be shorter in order to allow you to see a psychiatrist sooner rather than waiting for a full-length appointment. Your psychiatrist has a great deal of training and experience in knowing the most important questions to ask, and can gather an abundant amount of information in a relatively short amount of time. Also, you will have met with a psychologist or social worker before your initial visit with a psychiatrist, and because we work collaboratively at Counseling and Psychological Services, the psychologist or social worker will have passed along much of the background information your psychiatrist requires before your initial psychiatric consultation.

 

Our psychiatrists will work with you and our psychologists to help determine the best treatment option, but the final decision whether to take medication is yours. Many students meet with our psychiatrists and don’t end up taking medication. The psychiatrist may decide that medication is not the treatment of choice or the student may decide that she or he does not want to take medication.

If you elect to start medication, your Counseling and Psychological Services psychiatrist will meet with you periodically to monitor its therapeutic efficacy and any possible side effects. Your psychiatrist may find it necessary to adjust the dosage of your medication from time to time or, if indicated, may recommend changing or adding medications.

 

We encourage students to schedule appointments well in advance of the need for a medication renewal. It is important that you do not abruptly discontinue psychoactive medications, and because so many students use our services, there may be a wait before a refill appointment is available. If you do require a last minute refill, we will accommodate you as best we can by prescribing enough medication to tide you over until a proper follow-up appointment can be scheduled. However, quality health care requires that you meet with your psychiatrist periodically to review the therapeutic efficacy of your medication, check for side-effects and ask questions. It may not be possible to provide this careful monitoring in a last-minute refill appointment, so you will still need to return for a more comprehensive follow-up visit. Therefore, to avoid extra medical appointments, and the cost of multiple refills of the same prescription, we encourage you to keep careful track and arrange a renewal appointment well before you run out of medication.
 

Some students find medication so helpful that they remain on that medication for an extended period. In these instances, your Counseling and Psychological Services psychiatrist will assist you with a referral to a facility or provider outside of Counseling and Psychological Services who can follow you for as long as necessary or useful. Counseling and Psychological Services psychiatrists do not ordinarily continue to treat students beyond the initial consultation and stabilization period, consistent with Counseling and Psychological Services’ mission to make its resources readily accessible to the entire Columbia community.

 

 

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