Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. To do so, make sure you know what mental health services are available to you. This means familiarizing yourself with existing resources for mental health, including online mental health services, and understanding what your health insurance plan will cover. If you’re new to mental health services, you might have a lot of questions about how to get started. We’ll try to answer some here.
The first step to picking a therapist is finding a list of those who are covered by MetroPlusHealth. From there, you should identify what you want to address, and potentially which treatment approach you prefer. You can research individual providers, or visit their websites to learn more about their experience and specializations. You can call the office and schedule a free consultation to get a feel for the experience.
You may also want to decide if you’d rather do teletherapy instead of in-person, because not all providers will offer both. If you’re wondering how teletherapy services work for mental health care, teletherapy is like regular therapy, but you conduct it at home and meet virtually through a secure video link. Some people prefer talking face-to-face, while others appreciate the convenience and privacy of using online mental health services from home.
All MetroPlusHealth insurance plans cover mental health services, including the Essential Plan, Gold Plan, Child Health Plus, Medicare, Medicaid and marketplace plans. The Affordable Care Act requires that most plans cover mental health treatment as an essential health benefit.
Mental health is the state of a person’s emotional and psychological well-being. Substance use disorder is often grouped in with mental health services as well. The four types of mental health services are based on severity and type of illness. They are in-patient treatment at psychiatric hospitals, residential inpatient treatment, outpatient behavioral and mental health care, and dual diagnosis treatment, which is for those with both a mental illness and substance use disorder. Services may differ depending on whether adults or children are receiving treatment.
Community mental health services are local care options that support individuals with mental health challenges outside of the hospital system. This can include things like therapy, crisis intervention, case management, residential services, and more. The goal is to provide a path forward without a hospital stay, which may be disruptive for some.
Psychologists, therapists and counselors typically cannot prescribe medication. If you or your therapist believes you need mental health medication, you’ll have to arrange an appointment with your primary care provider or a psychiatrist. Primary care providers often handle medications for diagnoses like anxiety and depression If you have more complicated or severe conditions, they may refer you to a psychiatric office. There, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric physician assistants can all diagnose, treat and prescribe medications for mental health conditions.
First, check your insurance plan to determine if a referral is required. If you do need one, you’ll have to meet with your primary care doctor. You’ll discuss your symptoms and concerns with them and ask them to provide you with a referral for a specialist.