Cheryl L. Cooke, PhD, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
No one likes taking medicine
My first treatment choices are conventional interventions
to help alleviate symptoms through
lifestyle change and talk therapy.
But, sometimes, we need medicine to alleviate symptoms.
My philosophy of medication management includes moving slowly to decrease the chance for side effects, and meeting frequently enough to be able to see how you are responding to any medications that I prescribe.
What that means is weekly or bi-weekly visits
until you are stable on your medication.
Once your condition is more stable, your visits for medication managementwill become less frequent.
When you need medication to treat your condition
​
​
Most medications that we use today have some kind of side effect. I have found that if the medication is too uncomfortable to take, most folks won't continue to take it. So, my goals include finding a medication or combination of medications that will quickly alleviate your symptoms with the fewest side effects, and closely monitoring your response to any medications that I prescribe .
​
When necessary, we can do genetic testing to get a sense of the range of medications that may work best with your genetic makeup to best manage your condition.
