An addiction psychiatrist diagnoses and treats individuals of various age groups who are addicted to prescription medications, alcohol, and illegal drugs and have mental health conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression. Here’s everything an addiction psychiatrist does to treat addiction:
- Evaluates a person’s mental health problems, the substance they abuse, and their medical history.
- Detects psychiatric conditions like eating disorders, sleeping disorders, personality disorders, post-traumatic disorders, etc.
- Interprets imaging and laboratory tests
- Offers addiction therapy and frequent counseling sessions
- Prescribes medicines, how to use them, and monitors their side effects
- Orders detoxification treatmentto minimize the patient’s withdrawal symptoms.
- Reaches out to other social workers, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and primary care doctors to establish an effective treatment plan.
Who Should See An Addiction Psychiatrist?
Anyone who has a history of substance abuse should consider seeking help from an addiction psychiatrist. Your primary care doctor or addiction therapist is likely to refer you to an addiction psychiatrist to identify the underlying cause of your addiction. Substance abuse is a serious problem that can affect your physical and mental wellbeing. Thus, it’s essential to seek help from professional addiction doctors to overcome these conditions.
Consider seeking help from an addiction psychiatrist if you abuse illegal drugs, alcohol, or prescription medications and have the following symptoms:
- Sudden urgeto consume a substance
- Inability to stop consuming the drugs
- Feelings of anxiety or irritability
- Showing negative behaviors such as gambling, stealing, lying, etc.
- Lack of focus in performing everyday activities
- Losing interest in spending time with your loved ones
- Engaging in reckless activities such as drunk driving or having multiple sexual relationships.
Laboratory Testing
An addiction psychiatrist orders and performs multiple tests to diagnose whether a patient has an acute mental health problem. These tests include:
- Laboratory Tests– an addiction psychiatrist will perform various lab tests to identify kidney functions, liver functions, blood glucose levels, urine contents, complete blood count, etc.
- IQ Tests―to measure your mental health stability.
- Imaging Tests – Imaging tests include MRI, CT scans, and X-rays to detect any brain abnormalities.
If you or anyone you know is addicted to substance abuse, reach out to our suboxone doctors in White Marsh. Based in Maryland, MD MATT is a suboxone clinic where we treat alcohol addiction, drug addiction, heroin addiction, etc. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
