Severe Depression Treatment – Part 1
You need an individualized treatment plan and a health care team to navigate through severe depression and to provide you with a safety net.
We all need someone to catch us when we fall.
Individualized Treatment Plan
Severe depression treatment plans can be tailored to your specific needs. Scientists and scholars have yet to discover a cure, so while they are working behind the scenes on our behalf; work with your health care team to create an individualized treatment plan. It will be the key to optimizing your life and managing this chronic illness.
Create your team
To build a health care team, most individuals seek the best and the brightest physicians, particularly for their stature in the mental health community regardless of location and availability–that’s not what’s in question here. The questions you need to ask are:
- Who does my Primary Care Physician (PCP) recommend?
- Is this practitioner accepting new patients?
- Do they accept your insurance?–If not, are they affordable?
- When is their first available appointment?–2 weeks, a month, several months?
Once you’ve answered those questions and have scheduled your first appointment; use a piece of paper or an index card to jot down these important questions to ask yourself during your visit:
- Do I feel comfortable and safe with this person?
- Is this person genuinely interested in providing the best care for me?
- Do they look at you when you’re talking or are they looking at a computer, watch or cell phone?
- How do they respond when you ask if they can work as part of a team? Is this a ‘Lone Ranger’ who will not collaborate as a team?
If you are satisfied with your assessment; there is one all important question. It’s the deal breaker.
Will this person and staff advocate on my behalf?
My hope is that my experiences can be of some benefit to you. Check back daily for new installments in my series on Severe Depression Treatment. Future series topics will include:
Professionals to add to your team
Your role and responsibilities as part of the team
Alternate medical therapies and interventions
Exciting research that is happening behind the scenes
If you have a question or topic you feel would be a great part of this series; please send me your ideas with this contact form:
Thank you – Ellen
Ellie Bell 