FAQ

If you are feeling suicidal, you should go to your doctor’s office or to a hospital emergency room for evaluation and treatment. After that, you should get ongoing psychiatric treatment to deal with the underlying problems to prevent such thoughts and feelings from happening again.

As the demand for psychiatric services has increased, the supply of Psychiatrists has not. “Physician extenders” such as Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners have enabled more patients to get the care they need. Nurse Practitioners go through advanced training, earning masters degrees and getting extra supervised professional training in their specialty areas. They work in collaboration with board certified psychiatrists.

If you run out of your prescription, call our office for instructions.

Clinical Psychologists and Psychiatrists are both mental healthcare professionals. They are both trained at the doctoral level in diagnosis and treatment. Clinical Psychologists use psychological testing to help with diagnosis and treatment planning. Generally, Clinical Psychologists treat mental and emotional problems with counseling and psychotherapy, while Psychiatrists treatments focus on medication, though some psychiatrists do provide therapy as well. Licensed Clinical Social Workers and Licensed Professional Counselors are other mental health professionals who diagnose and treat mental disorders.

This depends on the nature of the problem. Some mental or behavioral problems are best treated with medications, others with psychotherapy and counseling. Research has shown that some of the most common problems, such as major depression, are best treated by a combination of both. After an initial evaluation, your therapist will discuss treatment options with you.

State and federal laws prohibit the release of information about your diagnosis and treatment without your written authorization. You may be asked to authorize release of information to your primary care provider or others, depending on your situation. You are not required to sign any authorization to release information, however, unless you intend to use your health insurance to help pay for services, and then only to the insurance company.

This is a complicated question. Being “dependent” on a medication can be a good thing since it allows a person with a medical or psychiatric condition to lead a normal life. Think of the diabetic person using insulin. Many people with Bipolar Disorder “depend on” medication to even out their moods to have normal social relations and to do their work. When a person would have physical withdrawal symptoms if the drug were stopped, we say he has become dependent on it in a medical sense. Being dependent on a medication is not the same as being “addicted,” because the medication is serving a useful purpose.


Some medicines, however, have the potential to create adverse reactions when the patient uses more and more of it to get the desired effect. Among psychiatric medications, the anti- anxiety medications in the benzodiazepine class are the ones most likely to have this effect. Thus, benzodiazepines, such as Ativan and Xanax, are usually prescribed only for short-term use under medical supervision. Only when a person who has developed tolerance to a drug and uses more and more of it despite serious negative consequences, do we say that he has become “addicted.”

If you fail to keep an appointment, or cancel one less than 24 hours beforehand, you will be subject to a fee. Your therapist may or may not impose the fee, depending on circumstances. Talk to your therapist about problems that prevent you from keeping your appointments.

Hampton Roads Behavioral Health is a private practice, meaning that we depend on the fees our patients pay, as well as their insurance benefits. Thus, we are not able to offer free services or services on a “sliding scale.”

Hampton Roads Behavioral Health most likely takes your insurance. We have long-standing relationships with all of the major health insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid, and most of the smaller ones, too. When you call for an appointment, you will be asked to provide your insurance information. If there is any doubt, we will determine if we can take your insurance before you make an appointment. You can also call the member benefits office of your insurance company and they can tell you which of our clinicians is on their provider panel.

It depends. While a minor has a right to treatment, the parent has the right to see the minor’s health records unless a physician or clinical psychologist has determined that the disclosure of health records to the parent or guardian would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the minor or another person. The therapist can discuss these matters with you at the first appointment to help you decide what to do regarding parental involvement. We generally encourage a cooperative effort in therapy. The therapist will try to help while respecting everyone’s rights.

If you choose to use your health insurance benefits to help pay for services, you must allow the insurance company some limited information about the treatment. When you authorize the billing of services to your insurance company you are authorizing the release of information to it. Usually, this is just the diagnosis and dates of treatment. Sometimes the insurance company will require pre-authorization for certain services and that would require sharing of more information to justify the services. The only way to keep your insurance company from knowing that you are being treated is to pay for the services yourself.