What to Expect From a Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation

When the root cause of your mental health struggles isn’t clear, you can’t effectively give yourself the support you need to thrive. Getting a diagnosis is the first step in formulating an effective care plan to balance your mental health and restore your full quality of life.

At Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Dr. Ronald P. Winfield and his team of psychiatry experts offer psychiatric diagnostic evaluations. We diagnose new and existing patients as part of our commitment to high-quality, effective, and compassionate mental health care.

The prospect of getting a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation could be anxiety-inducing, if you don’t fully understand the process and goals of this part of your treatment. That’s why Dr. Winfield and his team have put together this guide on what to expect from your psychiatric diagnostic evaluation. Here’s what you need to know.

When psychiatric diagnostic evaluation is right for you

If you’ve noticed mental health symptoms intruding on your daily life, restricting your functioning, or coloring your mood too much of the time, but aren’t sure exactly how to handle the issue, a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation could be helpful for you.

After your evaluation process, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of the nature of your mental health condition, the causes of your symptoms, and effective treatments to give you assistance and support.

At Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates, we provide this type of evaluation to patients 18 years old or older. We treat adult and senior patients of all genders, races, and religions with respect and understanding, and make sure that you’re informed about all aspects of your diagnosis and treatment plan.

What to expect at your diagnostic evaluation appointment

At your initial consultation appointment, the first thing to do is take a close look at your medical and family history. Then, your provider performs a full psychiatric assessment of your mental health condition.

We look at factors including an examination of your current mental status, as well as information on your physical, psychological, and social function and well-being, in order to diagnose your condition or conditions.

Getting the mental health care you need

Once you have your diagnosis, we turn our attention toward your treatment plan. You remain a full participant in decision-making around your mental health treatment. Your provider may suggest treatments and therapies for you including:

• Psychotherapy
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Medication management
• Lifestyle changes
• Brain-retraining therapies like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Dr. Winfield can help you assess benefits, side effects, and drawbacks to different treatment approaches to find the plan that’s right for you.

In addition to going over every part of your individualized treatment plan with you, your provider at Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates can also connect with your primary care physician (PCP) and any other specialists you could benefit from working with on mental health care.

At the end of the psychiatric diagnostic evaluation process, you have more information about your mental health condition, a customized care plan to address your symptoms and rebalance your mental health, and a team to support you with your mental health care.

To get started with a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, contact Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates online or over the phone today and schedule your appointment.