Psychiatric Care
The psychiatry team at CaPS includes a psychiatrist and a psychiatry case manager. CaPS offers short-term psychiatric consultations, medication management, and case management to students who are engaged in therapy at CaPS. Students must be referred to psychiatry services by a member of CaPS staff. For students whose medication needs fall within our scope of practice, we can provide medication management for a limited period (typically 3-6 months) while your team helps you connect with long-term care in the Pittsburgh community and coordinates with your care provider at home. Psychiatry team members collaborate closely with CaPS therapists to provide high-quality and evidence-based care to students, as long-term outcomes are best when medication is combined with therapy in a coordinated approach.
CaPS provides community referrals to students with complex and/or long-term psychiatric needs and for specialized issues like a formal assessment for ADHD medications. CaPS can help you identify and connect with psychiatrists in the community.
Transferring my psychiatric care to Â鶹´å
If you are currently in treatment for mental health concerns and take psychiatric medication, it is important that you have a plan for continuing care in Pittsburgh. At least a month before you require servcies, we recommend:
- 90-Day Supply of Medication: Ensure you secure a minimum of a 30-day supply and ideally a 90-day supply of your current medications. This provides a necessary bridge while you establish care with our team or a local specialist. Please plan ahead for your psychiatric care and next medication refill. Waiting until you are almost out of medication, often results in a delay in care.
- Medical Records: Obtain a copy of your medical records or a Summary of Treatment letter from your current prescribing physician to help with establishing care in Pittsburgh. Summary of Treatment letters help patients transition from their previous providers to campus or local community support at college.This documentation should include your diagnosis, current dosage, prior medication trials, and most recent lab results (if applicable). Please do not send your medical records to CaPS unless instructed to do so by a CaPS clinician.
- Care Coordination: If you would like assistance in establishing mental health treatment (therapy or medication management) in Pittsburgh, contact CaPS at 412-268-2922. We will provide assistance with accessing care, either at Â鶹´å or in the Pittsburgh community, depending on your specific history and treatment needs. Early coordination is the best way to prevent unnecessary stress.
What should I expect from my first psychiatric consultation?
If a CaPS staff member has referred you for psychiatric consultation, then you will be scheduled for an initial one-hour appointment. Prior to that appointment, you will be asked to complete a psychiatric informed consent document and a depression and anxiety questionnaire. The appointment will consist of a diagnostic evaluation, and a recommended treatment plan will be shared after evaluation. We will discuss the risks and benefits of treatment, which may include recommendations for intensity of treatment, types of therapy, and/or medication. It is important to understand that students are a partner in their care and should take an active role in their treatment.
Please note that an appointment with the psychiatrist does not guarantee students will be prescribed medication.
What if I am prescribed medication by CaPS psychiatry?
If you are prescribed medication as part of your treatment plan at CaPS, you will have regular 20-30 minute follow up appointments every 2-4 weeks until your symptoms improve. The effects and side effects of the medication will be monitored at each visit and adjustments made accordingly. Medication plus therapy together provide the greatest improvement in symptoms and treatment outcomes.
What are the costs of psychiatric services?
- Initial consultation: $40 /$70 after August 1st
- Follow up appointments: $25 /$35 after August 1st
- Initial evaluation no-show fee: $35 /$50 after August 1st
- Follow up appointment no-show fee: $20 /$30 after August 1st
If you do not have the Highmark SHIP insurance, psychiatric services will be billed to your student account and labeled as "Student Health Service."
What if I am currently prescribed medication from my psychiatrist at home, and I am running out of medication?
Start by calling your current psychiatrist or provider to determine if you can continue treatment or obtain a prescription refill from them. We will assist students with urgent medication refill needs by connecting them with their previous provider or local emergency center for assistance. CaPS does not typically provide emergency medication prescriptions but can assist the student in accessing a facility that may provide emergency prescriptions.
CaPS provides community referrals to students requiring complex and/or long-term psychiatric needs and for specialized issues like a formal assessment for ADHD/ADD medications. We can help you identify and connect with psychiatrists in the community.
Psychiatry referrals in the community
Please refer to your insurance plan’s customer service line for information on psychiatrists in network. If you need more assistance with community psychiatry referrals, CaPS can help you identify and connect with psychiatrists in the community.
Highmark Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) Spring Health Telemedicine platform
For students with the Â鶹´å Highmark SHIP, Spring Health is an option for telepsychiatry and teletherapy. There is typically a relatively short wait time for services and no cost for those with Â鶹´å Highmark SHIP. If you have Â鶹´å Highmark SHIP, there is no copay for services, but if you have issues with billing please contact Student Health Insurance at shinsure@andrew.cmu.edu. Please refer to your enrollment documentation for more information or click on the link below for the summary of benefits and information about getting started with Spring Health.
ADHD
Often, college students have trouble focusing, getting organized or completing work at times of increased stress. If these problems have only started recently (e.g. after coming to undergraduate or graduate school), they are unlikely to be caused by ADHD. ADHD begins in childhood and is not simply a response to stress. Because ADHD begins at an early age and is not episodic, information from parents, physicians and collateral sources is often essential in making a clinical diagnosis. CaPS provides short-term mental health treatment and does not have the resources to provide treatment for students needing long-term treatment for ADHD or other psychiatric disorders.
I would like to be evaluated for ADHD. Is there testing at CaPS?
I have already been diagnosed and am in treatment for ADHD. Can I be seen at CaPS or UHS for continued medication management?
If you have been diagnosed and/or treated previously for ADHD, CaPS/UHS requires complete documentation of the diagnostic evaluation and treatment provided by your previous treating physician or other licensed professional. CaPS/UHS may be able to provide medication management if you have been stable on ADHD medication for at least six months, and ADHD is the only psychiatric diagnosis. Contact CaPS for a consultation appointment (412-268-2922) with a TCC clinician to determine your psychiatric needs and most appropriate referrals.