Professional Consultations & Referrals
When You Know Something Is Wrong—but Don't Yet Know What Kind of Help Is Needed
Sometimes a patient, family, or referring professional knows that something is wrong but does not yet know what the problem is—or what kind of treatment is needed.
That uncertainty is itself a reason to seek expert evaluation.
Salubre Care provides comprehensive behavioral health and addiction medicine consultation for adults and adolescents whose psychiatric symptoms, substance use, prescribed medications, chronic pain, medical conditions, or previous treatment history have made the clinical picture difficult to understand.
The first step does not always need to be a new prescription, detoxification, or admission to a treatment program.
Sometimes the first step is clarity.
When the Pieces Don't Seem to Fit
A consultation may be helpful when:
- Depression, anxiety, mood instability, insomnia, or other symptoms have persisted despite previous treatment
- A family has noticed significant changes in a loved one's mood, behavior, functioning, alcohol use, or medication use
- Psychiatric symptoms and substance use appear to be affecting one another
- Long-term benzodiazepine use has become intertwined with anxiety, insomnia, physiologic dependence, or possible substance use disorder
- Chronic pain, opioid treatment, physiologic dependence, and possible opioid use disorder have become difficult to separate
- A patient is taking multiple psychiatric or controlled medications and the overall treatment plan has become difficult to understand
- Previous diagnoses or treatments have not adequately explained or improved what the patient is experiencing
- A physician, therapist, or other professional wants addiction-medicine or behavioral-health expertise to help clarify a complicated case
These situations often require more than assigning a diagnosis based on a single symptom.
Our physician-led evaluation can consider medical and psychiatric history, medications, substance use, sleep, pain, previous treatment, family history, relationships, school or work, other life circumstances, current risks, and the patient's own goals.
Our physician-led evaluation looks at the larger picture. Depending on the situation, this may include review of:
- Medical and psychiatric history
- Current and previous medications
- Alcohol and other substance use
- Sleep
- Chronic pain and other physical health concerns
- Previous diagnoses and treatment
- Family history
- Relationships and family circumstances
- School or Work responsibilities, and other life factors
- Current risks and safety concerns
- The patient's goals and priorities
- Relevant medical records or laboratory information when appropriate
The purpose is to understand how the pieces fit together and develop recommendations about what should happen next.
From Evaluation to a
Clearer Plan
The appropriate next step will be different for every patient.
Recommendations may include psychiatric treatment, medication changes, psychotherapy, medical evaluation, addiction treatment, medication tapering, home detoxification, medications for addiction treatment, a higher level of care, or involvement of several professionals around a complex problem.
Salubre Care does not necessarily need to provide every part of the treatment that follows.
In some situations, our role is consultation: helping clarify the problem and providing recommendations while the patient's existing physician, psychiatrist, therapist, pain specialist, or other clinicians continue managing their established areas of care.
In others, Salubre may provide ongoing treatment or help coordinate the larger plan.
Three Questions
For complicated cases, we often begin by trying to answer three questions:
What is happening?
What is driving it?
What should we do next?
Sometimes answering those questions well is the most important intervention we can provide.
The goal is to determine what the patient actually needs—not to fit the patient into a predetermined service.
Still Have Questions? We're Here To Help.
Reach out and we'll get back to you as soon as possible, usually within one business day. Our team is happy to answer questions, walk you through details, or point you in the right direction.