Services
Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation
A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is necessary to diagnose various emotional, behavioral, and developmental disorders. During this evaluation, we will assess your current behaviors, including any psychiatric and physical symptoms, and the effects that these behaviors/symptoms have on your occupational, academic, relationships, and interactions with others. It will be important to know your personal/family history of emotional, behavioral, and developmental disorders as well as your gestational, developmental, and medical history. Further testing including neuropsychological evaluations, blood tests, and/or tests to assess cardiac functioning and sleep, may be recommended prior to or following this evaluation.
Computerized ADHD Testing
ADHD is a very common cognitive disorder among individuals. ADHD can be difficult to diagnose for many reasons, the most important being that many psychiatric and medical conditions can mimic symptoms of ADHD. Computerized Continuous Performance Testing (CPT) for ADHD, when used in conjunction with clinical assessment, provides an objective diagnostic tool for clinicians to improve accuracy in diagnosing and ruling out ADHD.
Medication Management Services
Following your evaluation, we will discuss your treatment options. Medications play a key role in treating various mental health and substance use conditions, as they can reduce or eliminate your symptoms. We will discuss the risks, benefits, and potential side effects of the medications that are prescribed to you. We will provide ongoing medical monitoring while you remain on medications.
Brief Psychotherapy
(when combined with medication)
Some treatment plans may include a recommendation for psychotherapy in addition to medication. At Ally, we specialize in medication management services, but when appropriate, may incorporate psychoeducation, cognitive therapy, solution focused therapy, and mindfulness into your sessions.
Ally Mental Health provides Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) with Suboxone. Suboxone is prescribed and monitored by our licensed medical provider. MAT provides an additional means to assist you in your recovery from dependence to opioids such as pain pills or heroin. Suboxone is a prescription medication used to treat opioid addictions. It is available as a film or tablet. The ingredients in Suboxone (Buprenorphine and Naloxone) work together to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Suboxone is only one part of the treatment plan. Counseling, either one on one or in a group will also be necessary on your journey to recovery.
Medication Assisted Treatment (with SUBOXONE)
Genetic Testing for Mental Health Medications
Ally Mental Health offers Genetic testing for mental health medications. Genetic testing can help your provider to find the right medication for you by showing how your genes may affect the way certain medications work for you. Many patients become overwhelmed by the "trial and error" process of choosing mental health medications. Through the use of genetic testing, we can better identify which medications would be more or less likely to work for you and whether there is an increased risk of side effects with certain medications based upon your genetic makeup. Testing is performed in our office and consists of a simple cheek swab to collect your DNA. Once we ship the specimen off to the lab, your provider will typically receive your results within 72 hours.
We are happy to offer a new treatment option for depressive symptoms! SPRAVATO® (esketamine) CIII, is a nasal spray that can be taken with an oral antidepressant to treat treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in adults and depressive symptoms in adults with MDD with acute suicidal ideation or behavior. SPRAVATO® is only available through a restricted program called the SPRAVATO® Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program. This means that you can receive treatment with SPRAVATO® only at treatment centers certified by the SPRAVATO® REMS Program and you must be enrolled in the program.
At Ally Mental Health, you can be assured that we have completed all of the requirements for REMS certification. The medical staff at our certified treatment center are trained to prescribe, dispense, and administer SPRAVATO®, and we have established processes and procedures in accordance with the REMS requirements. We have been amazed by how quickly our patients improve with this treatment, many noting improvement after the first week of treatment!
Telehealth
At Ally Mental Health, we offer comprehensive telehealth services through a HIPAA secured platform. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has become one of the most successful means of providing mental health treatment when face-to-face interactions were not possible. Patients can be seen while in the convenience of their home with minimal disruptions to their daily lives. Telehealth has helped to reduce the barrier of patients accessing mental healthcare and allows us to better meet the needs of patients seeking treatment throughout the state of Louisiana.
