Top Psychiatrist in Creve Coeur MO

Each person will have their own individual reasons as to why they decide to seek out a psychiatrist, and it can be any number of reasons that they decide to pursue this type of care. It can be hard to figure out if you would benefit from a visit with a psychiatrist, so below are a few possible indicators that might be able to help you figure out if psychiatry is a good course of action for you:
 
• Inexplicable physical illnesses
• Experiencing severe anxiety, worry, or general sadness
• A loss of emotional control
• Changes in sleeping habits and performance at work or school
• Increase in frequency of nightmares
• Decreased want for social interactions
• Substance use
 
Essentially, if your mental health is starting to affect how you exist and feel in your day to day life, your ability to function, and your interpersonal relationships, it could be worth scheduling a consultation with a psychiatrist to see if regular appointments would be beneficial for you.

The primary difference between psychiatry and psychology is that psychiatrists require medical degrees and are able to prescribe medication, whereas psychologists require doctorate degrees and are not considered medical doctors. Psychologists will typically use talk therapy with their patients, while psychiatrists will lean towards more conventional medical approaches like medication management. It is common for someone seeing a psychiatrist to also speak with a psychologist, and vice versa, to ensure that they are receiving the best possible mental health care for their personal situation.

As with choosing a new primary care physician, choosing a new psychiatrist can play a pretty big role in the quality of care that you are able to receive, so you need to know what traits are important to you to ensure that you are able to create a relationship of trust and comfort with your psychiatrist. One recommendation for finding a new healthcare provider of any type is to ask for a referral list to understand what other patients may have thought about their care. If you have insurance coverage, it is worth checking with your provider to see if there are any professionals in your area that will be covered at least partially to make the care a bit more affordable. Since visiting a psychiatrist requires a bit more vulnerability and honesty from you, you may want to consider if there is a specific communication style, gender, or just ability to have a shared perspective that the psychiatrist could have that would make the care more approachable for you. It is also highly recommended to try to find a psychiatrist that has specialized in your specific concerns. There are a few more things that you could consider, but it all just comes down to doing research on the psychiatrist and using the consultation to decide if they are able to offer the care that you need.

The initial visit with a psychiatrist will likely consist of a fair amount of questions, both for you to provide as much information as is needed for the psychiatrist to know what course of action will be best suited to help you, and also to give you an opportunity to ask them about their expertise or method of care so you can decide if they are able to provide care that is appropriate for you. The psychiatrist may also wish to speak with your primary care physician or family members if it is deemed beneficial for your treatment plan. They might also request a few more tests to help them fully understand what you may need from them. We serve patients from Creve Coeur MO, St. Louis MO, Independence MO, Olathe KS, Columbia MO, Craig KS, Spring Hill KS, Prathersville MO, Pierpont MO, Kirkwood MO, Kansas City MO, River Bend Mo & Beyond!