Can BetterHelp counselors prescribe medication?

I’ve had a very difficult time in the past few years focusing, completing tasks, anxiety, mood swings and depression. Wondering if it is possible? I’ve had a difficult 3 year stretch since professional baseball has concluded in my life… thanks
Asked by Luke
Answered
08/11/2021

Hello - Better Help therapists are not able to prescribe any medications. This is because we are not medical personnel. We are mental health practitioners. Mental health practitioners are not allowed to prescribe medications. I would like to encourage you to see a medical doctor or nurse practitioner. They would be able to prescribe something for you if they determine that it would be needed. On the other hand, you have mentioned some challenging symptoms that could definitely be helped by also seeking out mental health therapy. Research has shown that the best outcomes come when a client/patient utilizes both medications when necessary and mental health treatment. It sounds to me like you could really benefit from working with a therapist to help you with the symptoms that you are describing, especially since it has been going on for a few years. That is a long time to deal with these things! Medications can help with what you are describing, and so also can therapeutic interventions. To give you an idea of some of these interventions, you could learn about coping skills for anxiety and depression. You could learn about tips for helping you to focus and complete tasks. You could monitor your moods to detect a pattern. This last idea is based on a worksheet that could be used. Seeing a therapist and scheduling live sessions on a weekly basis would really help you with learning how to cope, giving you ideas on how to manage these things, and provide you with support and accountability. I say accountability because your therapist would most likely ask you to complete relevant worksheets or "homework" assignments that would be geared toward your specific goals. Working together, you would figure out what your goals are for therapy and how you would make progress toward them. In this way, you would begin to feel hopeful that you will start feeling better and managing life's challenges better, all with the support and expertise of your therapist. So in summary, I am recommending that you seek out medical input to see if you might need a prescription. I am also recommending that you sign up for counseling, as that will provide the practical tools, emotional support, and accountability that you need in order to see wonderful change and growth take place.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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(LPC, LCPC, LPCC)