Psychiatric Care Management
After your initial evaluation, ongoing care is how treatment continues and evolves. The same provider who conducted your evaluation works with you through follow-up visits that go well beyond medication refills.
Each visit is an opportunity to assess how you're doing, adjust your treatment, and address whatever has changed since your last appointment. Mental health is not static. Your care shouldn't be either.
What a Follow-Up Visit Includes
Follow-up visits are where treatment is actively managed. The focus of each visit depends on where you are in treatment, but may include any of the following.
Medication Review and Adjustment
How your current medications are working, whether side effects need to be addressed, and whether any changes in dosage or approach are needed.
Symptom Monitoring
Your provider assesses how you're doing overall. Validated clinical scales may be re-administered when clinically indicated to track changes over time.
Psychoeducation
Education about your condition doesn't stop after the first visit. Your provider continues to help you understand how your treatment works, what to watch for, and how to recognize patterns in your own symptoms.
Lifestyle and Coping Strategies
Sleep, stress management, exercise, nutrition within scope, and practical coping techniques are revisited regularly. These aren't afterthoughts. They're part of the clinical conversation at every visit.
Lab Work
Ordered or reviewed when clinically indicated. Your provider will explain what's needed and why.
Care Coordination
When relevant, your provider coordinates with outside therapists, primary care physicians, or other specialists involved in your care.
Visit Frequency
How often you're seen depends on where you are in treatment. The general pattern:
Early treatment
Follow-ups are more frequent while your provider monitors your initial response and makes adjustments. Most patients are seen every 2 to 4 weeks during this period.
Once stable
Visits gradually space out, typically to every 8 weeks, and up to every 12 weeks. Twelve weeks is the maximum gap between visits.
Controlled medications
Patients prescribed controlled medications, such as stimulants or benzodiazepines, are seen every 4 weeks. This is a safety standard we maintain for every patient on these medications. It ensures your provider can monitor how the medication is working and make adjustments as needed.
Treatment is rarely linear. Finding the right approach often requires adjustment over time. Your provider stays with you through that process, and visit frequency adapts as your needs change.
How Follow-Up Visits Work
All follow-up visits are available via telemedicine or in person. You choose what works best for your schedule, and you can switch between the two as your preferences change. Telemedicine is available regardless of which location you were originally evaluated at. Your provider may occasionally require an in-person visit for vitals, a drug screen, or other clinical needs.
Between Visits
If concerns come up between appointments, you can contact the office by phone or email. Our staff relays your concern to your provider, who responds with guidance. You'll typically hear back within 24 to 48 hours during business hours.
Most treatment adjustments happen during scheduled visits. Between-visit communication is for concerns that shouldn't wait until your next appointment. In cases where it's clinically important, your provider will reach out to you directly.
If you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Our office is not equipped for crisis services.
Continued Psychiatrist Involvement
The psychiatrist's role doesn't end after the initial treatment plan review. Dr. Nazarani continues to be involved in ongoing care through random chart reviews across the practice and availability for consultation when clinical questions arise. If a case becomes more complex or requires a change in direction, the psychiatrist is available as a clinical resource for your provider.
Common Questions
That's what we work toward. The provider who conducts your evaluation is your ongoing provider, and in the typical course of care, you'll continue seeing them at every visit. In some circumstances, such as provider leave, rescheduling changes, or gaps in care, continuity with the same provider may not always be possible. But it's the standard we design for.
Every situation is different. Some patients are in care for a defined period. Others benefit from longer-term management. Your provider will discuss what makes sense for your situation and adjust the plan over time as your needs change.
Yes. Follow-up visits are available either way, and you can switch between them as your schedule or preferences change. Your provider may occasionally require an in-person visit for vitals, a drug screen, or other clinical needs. For patients who primarily use telemedicine, we recommend arranging to monitor blood pressure and vitals at home and sharing those at each visit. Telemedicine regulations are also evolving, and periodic in-person visits may be required as state laws change.
That's exactly what follow-up visits are for. Your provider monitors your response and makes adjustments when needed. Finding the right treatment often involves fine-tuning, and that's a normal part of the process.
For controlled medications like stimulants or benzodiazepines, regular visits are a clinical safety standard. It ensures your provider can monitor how the medication is working, assess for side effects, and make adjustments as needed. The state also requires providers to check the Prescription Monitoring Program each month for patients on these medications. This policy applies to all patients on controlled medications.
Yes. Feeling well often means the treatment is working, which is exactly why continued monitoring matters. Stopping care abruptly can lead to setbacks. Your provider will work with you to find the right visit frequency as you stabilize.
Ready to Get Started?
New patients begin with a psychiatric evaluation. From there, ongoing care management continues with the same provider.