Our Services
Balance Psychiatry & Wellness is here to help…
At Balance we strive to offer a range of psychiatric services to treat various mental health conditions including Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder. We believe the best treatment for most mental health conditions is grounded in whole body health including exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness. While providing expert medication management, we also offer Transcranial Magnetic stimulation and soon will be adding in-house therapists.
Our providers are skilled at utilizing the most up to date treatment modalities and poses an in-depth understanding of medications and psychopharmacology. We firmly believe in a direct and host approach to medicine in which you DESERVE to know what your options are, even if that includes treatments we do not offer. In these circumstances we would refer you to community partners who provide treatments we may not.
Services We Provide
TMS
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a well-established FDA Approved and non-invasive/ non-pharmacologic treatment using magnetic energy to stimulate areas of the brain believed to be under active in depression.
We have been using TMS to treat depression for over 15 years now and it is a known safe and effective treatment for depression and some types of anxiety when medications have failed or caused too many side effects.
TMS works by using gentle magnetic pulses to stimulate under active areas of the brain. Treatments are administered on various schedules and the most common is 19 min per day Mon-Fri for a total of 36 treatments. During treatments you will be awake sitting comfortable in a reclined position. Many people use this time to talk to the technician administering treatment, listen to relaxing music, or watch video content of your choice. After the treatment you are safe to go about your normal day.
Medication Management
The process of selecting effective rationale medications for each individual person begins with a thorough psychiatric evaluation and accurate diagnostic interview. Medication management visits are a principal element of mental health care and medications can be thought of as a spoke on the wheel of whole person treatment.
Navigating complex psychopharmacologic decisions is a skill and an art that involves respect for each person’s quality of life goals as well as intricate knowledge of medications. It is essential that prescriber and patient collaborate, carefully weighing the risks and benefits of psychiatric medications, to optimize results.
Through an evidence based approach, medication can become a useful tool in amplifying your ability to feel more in control of your mental health.
Depression
Clinical depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder(MDD) is an extraordinarily common and potentially debilitating illness. Depression impacts one in five Americans and may cause significant impairment in memory, concentration, energy, sleep, appetite as well ability to function at work or school, within romantic relationships, or even within friendships.
Depression appears to be rooted, for many people, in genetic factors. While it is true we are more likely to suffer from depression if we have close family members with depression, the truth is, the most common cause of depression is actually STRESS. More specifically, chronic low grade stress is probably responsible for the majority of depression episodes and even though the cause is outside of our bodies, the impact of depression on our brains and the need to treat it quickly is still of the utmost importance!
Untreated depression increases risk of obesity, heart disease, Diabetes and a variety of other medical conditions and may severely shorten one’s lifespan. Depression is notoriously difficult to treat and up to 2/3 of those suffering from it do not respond adequately to two or more medications. Furthermore, studies show if we do not go into remission after the first two traditional antidepressant medications, our likelihood of remission with the 3rd is less than 15 percent! In addition, we now have research which suggests if we do not treat depression aggressively and quickly, it could cause long term damage to parts of the brain greatly reducing our functional abilities and even ability to think clearly!
For these reasons, we at Balance, take a very strong stance on treating depression aggressively and using the newest information to choose treatment strategies that make sense and fit your lifestyle. Far too often, people suffering from depression are continued on older medications which do not work for them or inaccurate doses of medication with no consideration for a variety of novel treatment options.
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are cumulatively the most common of all mental health struggles. Almost everyone experiences some type of anxiety. Believe it or not, some amount of anxiety is actually healthy and helps motivate us to be more productive and cautious. When anxiety is over abundant however, it can wreak havoc on out body, mind, and immune systems. These global impacts make sleeping, thinking, and even eating a challenge.
Anxiety may present in many ways. For some this could include excessive worry and overthinking. For others the anxiety may be physical and include feeling edgy, jumpy, nauseous or even have chest or belly pain. Many people show up at their doctor’s office or even an emergency room thinking they have a serious medical condition due to symptoms of anxiety. Some specific types of anxiety include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and even specific phobias such as fear of planes, snakes, or even parties.
Sadly anxiety is often under or misdiagnosed and even worse, way too many common treatments for depression, attention, or even anxiety and actually worsen anxiety if not used appropriately!
A skilled psychiatric provider should be able to accurately diagnose anxiety and be able to offer various treatment options to relieve symptoms including medications, TMS, but also incorporating exercise, nutrition, meditation, and talk therapy.
Ready to start your healing journey?
Schedule your Evaluation today. We’ll be with you every step of the way…