Preventive Care

That's a great question, with no simple answer. Part of it may be the newness of the mental health field compared to physical health. Part of it may be the fact that insurance has historically not covered mental health care. Part of it may be that people still don't see mental health as part of their health. Part of it may be that therapists are trained on the weekly format and aren't encouraged to provide preventive services.

Whatever the reason, what we do know is that most therapists work on a 50-60 minute session, weekly or bi-weekly format. This is great if you're working on or through something, but what happens once you've met those goals? And what about the people who don't have significant issues, but are still struggling or just want to make sure they take care of themselves?

One of the things I've said as a therapist - and something I talk about with my colleagues frequently - is how much easier it would have been for my client if they had come in when the issues first started. With that in mind, part of my goal as a therapist is to a) provide preventive care for mental health, and b) help preventive care for mental health become more popular and widely accepted.

On the client side of things, this means that if you have a family history of something, we make note of it and watch for it. Or we simply work to prevent things like generalized anxiety, depression, acute stress disorder, prolonged grief disorder, and PTSD. This also means that if something comes up that you need a therapy session for, you're already in with a therapist who knows you and can support your care. 

This also lessens the load on your doctors - they don't get very much mental health training, especially not compared to your average Master's level clinician, and definitely not as much as your PhD/PsyD level clinicians! Family medicine doctors are overwhelmed in the US as is - wait times to see a doctor continue to rise as we also face a physician shortage and physician burnout (AMN Healthcare, 2025). It's likely that at least some of these referrals could also include mental health concerns. So what if those came to a therapist instead of a physician? That would save time in the doctor's appointment, and allow the doctors to focus on their specialty - medical care.

Preventive care also benefits therapists! We often get training on avoiding burnout and compassion fatigue (*Note: Sometimes therapists struggle to follow our own advice - and that's okay!), and we have less pressure to see a million patients at once compared to physicians. Many mental health professionals work in private practice too - meaning we set our own schedules and can be more flexible than a hospital or out-patient medical clinic. Offering preventive care is something that we're more than capable of doing.

How do you do preventive care? What's your model?

Great questions! First, my goals for all clients are a) knowledge to know when to seek out therapy, b) skills to manage everyday life, and c) have as high of life satisfaction and quality they can get. With that in mind, my version of preventive mental health care has a few components.

Thorough Assessment: Yep, when you come in, there will be a bunch of things to fill out. The purpose of this is so that we can spend time in the actual appointment talking about the things that affect you most - instead of filling out all of the paperwork! 

Family History: We'll sit down in the first session and go over your family history as it concerns mental health. That way, if we know something like bipolar runs in the family, or we suspect ADHD may run in the family, we can assess for it and keep an eye out. You'll also get a run down of things you need to watch out for for yourself or even your children in terms of generational patterns!

Mental Health Education: You'll get a run down on some signs and symptoms of mental illnesses that anyone can develop in their lifetime - including generalized anxiety, depression, burnout, compassion fatigue, prolonged grief disorder, acute stress disorder, and more! This will also include when to come in for treatment - a knowledgable client is an empowered client!

Recommendations for Referral: I know what's mental health and when you should be referred to a doctor - I also know when things aren't in my scope of practice and you need a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, or another specialist.

Communications with Your Physician: Ever been to a doctor's appointment and been told it's all in your head or "you're just anxious"? Well, if you come to me and I assess and - surprise, surprise, you're not anxious - I can back you up when you have another appointment with a doctor. Essentially, "Hey Dr. So-and-so, I've assessed for anxiety and this client is not anxious, so I think this is a medical, not a mental health condition." 

Personalized Recommendations: I'll use the information from those assessments and my time with you to help you with personalized strategies to improve your quality of life, or recommend more therapy sessions/treatment if it's indicated.

When to Come In: We'll also cover situations where it's helpful to come in to prevent mental illnesses. This could include coming in to process grief from losing a loved one, a job, or a dream for the future, or to process trauma from a car accident or medical experience. For those in high-stress jobs or caregiving roles, this will also include a plan for regular check-ups for compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout to catch it as early as we can. You'll also know when to come in when you're struggling with something that's bothering you or that has impacted you in a big way. This will also save you money in the long term by getting into treatment early, which requires less sessions and less work on your end.