When to Consider Telemedicine for Your Mental Health Needs

Millions of people deal with issues all the time regarding mental health, from mild anxiety and depression to trauma from events that cause deeper problems. According to data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults in the United States struggle with mental health problems, and one in 20 cope with serious problems annually, and less than half of them received the care they needed as recently as 2021.

Once you choose to get help, there are options for treatment in and out of the office to make life easier. Telemedicine has become a very popular option for managing medical care as it has a lot of benefits for patients and doctors. To find out if this is a fit for you and when you should consider it, let’s look at the importance of maintaining your mental health, why telemedicine is making lives easier, and see our options for this type of treatment.

Residents of the Seattle, Washington area looking for ways to get help coping with mental health issues can find it with Edward Macias,PMHNP-BC and his staff at Blue Mountain Psychiatry.

The importance of mental health

Your cognitive and emotional health are vital not only to how you see yourself and the world around you but also to your overall health. When mental illness affects you, it changes memory, perception, mood, concentration, decision-making, and your ability to learn and adapt to the world around you depending on the condition and its severity. Those problems seep into other physical issues like insomnia, fatigue, sleeping problems, headaches, digestive problems, heart palpitations, and muscle aches. Issues with mental health can also affect how you bounce back from adversity, develop and retain relationships, and how high or low your self-esteem is.

Why telehealth is helping

Also referred to as telemedicine, and for us, telepsychiatry, telehealth is the use of technology to consult and seek advice on managing medical issues remotely. It’s not only great for appointments that don’t require examinations or emergency needs; it allows people to fit the visits into their schedule while being able to perform other tasks or be comfortable in their own space. We’re not always comfortable managing mental health needs in office settings, and these remote appointments are a great way to get help in your environment.

Our options for telehealthcare

Our telepsychiatry appointments are a convenient aspect of our treatment options, which can be performed through video calls, phone calls, and online messaging. It provides supplementary help to in-office visits and simply requires setting up the appointment, accessing its platform, ensuring your devices are working properly, and getting into the session. We can then discuss your concerns, assess your needs, and work on a treatment plan, which can require medications and will no doubt need follow-up appointments.

Deciding to get these remote appointments is down to your specific needs. It is managed individually, but even if you’re getting routine in-office visits, follow-ups can sometimes be done through telepsychiatry.

Whether you’re coming in for a visit or need a remote consult, make an appointment with psychiatric nurse practitioner, Edward Macias and Blue Mountain Psychiatry today for help with mental health issues.