Medication serves an important role in mental healthcare. It can aid patients in crisis or manage conditions in the long term. While some patients benefit from therapy alone, many need a combination of medication and therapy interventions.

Whatever a patient’s relationship with medication, managing that medication is an essential component of the process. Patients and health care providers work together to ensure that they have the right balance of medication and that the intervention is having the right effect on the patient’s mental state. After writing a prescription, a doctor or nurse practitioner typically schedules a follow-up appointment shortly thereafter, at which point the doctor or nurse practitioner can assess the patient’s status.