A mental health evaluation helps determine a patient’s mental state and guides them towards the best recommended treatments. It gives insight into the way patients think, reason, feel and remember. Through a series of psychiatric diagnostic tests, these evaluations help diagnose mental health disorders. In addition to seeing if a person suffers from a mental health condition, these evaluations can also help determine if a person has a co-occurring substance use disorder and rule out any physical causes for the symptoms. Most of all, psychiatric evaluations can help patients heal from the effects of their mental health conditions and provide them with an avenue for treatment.
What Can An Evaluation Do For You?
Through a series of questions and tests, Dr. Patel can help diagnose a number of mental health conditions, including:
Depression:
Serious mood disorders such as depression can often impact how you feel, think, and handle daily life. Persistent sadness, feelings of emptiness, irritability, and decreased energy are only a few of the various symptoms that can occur from mood disorders like depression.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
This disorder is often marked by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that interfere with functioning and development. For people with ADHD, these experiences occur more severely and impact their quality of life.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
For those who have experienced dangerous and traumatizing events, PTSD often presents with symptoms of flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening thoughts that trigger the flight-or-fight response in many people.
Anxiety Disorders:
While occasional anxiety is considered normal, pervasive feelings of anxiousness can impact various areas of a person’s life, causing restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and excessive feelings of worry.
Eating Disorders:
These are mental health conditions that cause disturbances in eating behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in relation to body weight and image.
Addictive disorders:
Substance use disorders lead to a person’s inability to control their use of substances such as alcohol and drugs and can co-occur with other mental health conditions.
Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders:
Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia can often present with hallucinations and delusions, altered perceptions of reality, and cognitive decline.
Bipolar disorder:
This type of mood disorder affects daily functioning, and those with this condition often experience cycling patterns of depression and elevated moods.
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How to Prepare For Your Mental Health Evaluation
Evaluations can help us understand our patient’s mental health needs and determine appropriate treatment planning. If you’re ever nervous about your evaluation, we highly recommend writing questions down about your symptoms, tracking how long your symptoms occur, and what triggers them. If you think that a friend or loved one is experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition, don’t be afraid to talk to them about their mental health and help them connect with a professional who can help. Dr. Patel can help you find your way back to recovery through appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
