Preparing to Meet the Psychiatrist
Preparing to meet a therapist or psychiatrist is a pivotal step in family addiction recovery. This initial preparation sets the tone for subsequent interactions and can significantly influence the trajectory of the recovery journey. For families, understanding the roles of these professionals, setting clear expectations, and gathering relevant information beforehand can lead to more productive sessions. Being well-prepared ensures that the concerns of all family members are addressed, fostering a collaborative therapeutic relationship. Moreover, it helps in building trust and openness, essential components for effective therapy. In essence, adequate preparation not only maximizes the benefits of professional guidance but also empowers families to actively participate in the healing process.
CommonGround is a web-based application that helps people prepare to meet with psychiatrists or treatment teams and arrive at the best decisions for treatment and recovery.
The Challenge
When we go for a medication appointment with the psychiatrist, there are many issues that need to be discussed. However, the appointment is short, often only 15-20 minutes. It can be hard to organize our thoughts, answer the doctor's questions, ask our own questions, speak up about our concerns and make decisions. Sometimes we can feel more like spectators on our care, rather than full partners in making decisions about what treatment is right for us.
How CommonGround Works
CommonGround addresses this challenge by helping us prepare before the appointment, so that during the appointment we are ready to work with our doctor to find the best decisions for our treatment and recovery.
Before the appointment, CommonGround helps us prepare a 1-page Health Report that summarizes how we are doing and what our concerns are. Additionally, CommonGround links us to information about our treatment and suggestions that help us manage our disorder and make progress in our recovery.
During the appointment, our CommonGround Health Report acts like an amplifier, helping our doctor quickly understand our goals, concerns and progress. Together we arrive at a shared decision about the next best steps for treatment and recovery. Our shared decision is printed out so we can bring it home as a reminder about what we will do to help ourselves before the next appointment.
What Technology Will We Need?
A modern web browser and high speed internet access is all that is needed to use the secure CommonGround web application.
The Challenge
When we go for a medication appointment with the psychiatrist, there are many issues that need to be discussed. However, the appointment is short, often only 15-20 minutes. It can be hard to organize our thoughts, answer the doctor's questions, ask our own questions, speak up about our concerns and make decisions. Sometimes we can feel more like spectators on our care, rather than full partners in making decisions about what treatment is right for us.
How CommonGround Works
CommonGround addresses this challenge by helping us prepare before the appointment, so that during the appointment we are ready to work with our doctor to find the best decisions for our treatment and recovery.
Before the appointment, CommonGround helps us prepare a 1-page Health Report that summarizes how we are doing and what our concerns are. Additionally, CommonGround links us to information about our treatment and suggestions that help us manage our disorder and make progress in our recovery.
During the appointment, our CommonGround Health Report acts like an amplifier, helping our doctor quickly understand our goals, concerns and progress. Together we arrive at a shared decision about the next best steps for treatment and recovery. Our shared decision is printed out so we can bring it home as a reminder about what we will do to help ourselves before the next appointment.
What Technology Will We Need?
A modern web browser and high speed internet access is all that is needed to use the secure CommonGround web application.