Anxiety, low mood, poor sleep, and difficulty concentrating can affect your work, relationships, physical health, and everyday routines. These concerns may also overlap with medications, chronic conditions, hormone changes, stress, or sleep disorders, making it difficult to know where to begin.
My Primary Care NP offers an accessible starting point for adults experiencing common mental health concerns in Bel Air. As part of our practice’s broader range of services, Lana Kim, DNP, can provide an initial evaluation, review possible medical contributors, discuss appropriate treatment options, monitor certain medications, and refer you to a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or other specialist when needed.
Mental health services at My Primary Care NP are intended for routine outpatient concerns. If you are in immediate danger, experiencing a life-threatening emergency, or may harm yourself or someone else, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
How Can a Primary Care NP Help With Mental Health Concerns?
Primary care is often the first place adults discuss changes in mood, sleep, attention, or daily functioning. A primary care provider can perform an initial mental health screening and coordinate a referral to a qualified mental health professional.
Maryland nurse practitioners may independently assess patients, diagnose common chronic or short-term health problems, prescribe medications within their authority, order tests, and make referrals when appropriate.
Depending on your symptoms and needs, Lana may help by:
Discussing when your symptoms began and how they affect daily life
Using appropriate screening questionnaires
Reviewing prescriptions, supplements, and substance use
Evaluating physical conditions that may contribute to your symptoms
Ordering laboratory testing when appropriate
Discussing medication options within her scope of practice
Monitoring effectiveness, side effects, and changes in symptoms
Coordinating therapy, psychiatry, sleep medicine, or other specialty care
My Primary Care NP does not replace psychotherapy or psychiatric specialty care. Some concerns can be supported in primary care, while complex, severe, or treatment-resistant symptoms may require specialized evaluation.
Which Mental Health Concerns Can Be Discussed?
Anxiety
Anxiety can involve more than temporary worry. A visit may explore how often you feel anxious, how long the symptoms have been present, possible triggers, physical symptoms, sleep, and the effect on your daily life.
Primary care providers can begin the evaluation and refer patients to mental health professionals when additional care is needed.
Depression
Depression may affect mood, motivation, energy, concentration, sleep, appetite, and interest in activities. Lana can review your symptoms, medications, physical health, and possible contributing conditions.
Treatment may involve medication, psychotherapy, or both, depending on the severity of symptoms and your individual needs.
Insomnia
Insomnia may involve difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or getting restorative sleep. Lana may ask about your sleep schedule, medications, caffeine, stress, snoring, and daytime symptoms.
Keeping a sleep diary can help identify patterns, while suspected sleep apnea or another sleep disorder may require referral for additional testing.
ADD and ADHD Concerns
Adults with ADHD may experience persistent difficulty with organization, attention, time management, impulsivity, or completing daily tasks. An adult ADHD evaluation considers current symptoms, childhood history, functioning in different settings, sleep, mood, substance use, and other conditions that can cause similar concerns.
Lana may perform the evaluation herself or refer you to a mental health specialist.
What Happens During a Mental Health Visit?
Your appointment begins with a private discussion about your symptoms, health history, medications, daily routines, and goals. Lana may also review sleep, stress, work, relationships, alcohol or substance use, and physical symptoms.
Certain medical conditions and medications can contribute to changes in mood, energy, sleep, or concentration. When appropriate, Lana may coordinate your mental health plan with chronic disease and medication management.
Medication is not automatically prescribed at the first visit. Recommendations depend on your symptoms, history, diagnosis, previous treatments, safety considerations, and whether specialized care would be more appropriate.
Why Choose My Primary Care NP for Mental Health Care?
My Primary Care NP approaches mental and physical health as connected parts of comprehensive primary care. Lana Kim, DNP, considers your symptoms alongside your medications, chronic conditions, sleep, stress, and overall health.
