Columbia University Health Services

It is always your choice to take medication. Many students meet with our psychiatrists and don’t end up taking medication. The psychiatrist may decide that medication is not the treatment of choice or the student may  decide that she or he does not want to take medication. Our psychiatrists will work collaboratively with you to help determine the best treatment option for you.

We encourage students to schedule appointments well in advance of the need for a medication renewal. It is important that you do not abruptly discontinue many psychoactive medications, and because so many students use our services, there may be a wait before a refill appointment is available.

If you do require a last minute refill, we will accommodate you as best we can by prescribing enough medication to tide you over until a proper follow-up appointment can be scheduled. However, quality health care requires that you meet with your psychiatrist periodically to review the therapeutic efficacy of your medication, check for side-effects and ask any questions you might have. It will ordinarily not be possible to provide this careful monitoring in a last minute refill appointment, and if we accommodate you in this way you will still need to return for a more comprehensive follow-up visit. Therefore, to avoid extra medical appointments, and the cost of multiple refills of the same prescription, we encourage you to keep careful track and arrange a renewal appointment well before you run out of medication.

If you do elect to begin a trial course of medication, your CPS psychiatrist will meet with you periodically to monitor the therapeutic efficacy of your medication and any possible side effects. Your psychiatrist may find it necessary to adjust the dosage of your medication or, if indicated, may recommend a change in your medication regimen.

Some students find medication so beneficial in relieving chronic symptoms that they remain on that medication for an extended period. In these instances, your CPS psychiatrist will assist you with a referral to a facility or provider outside of CPS who can follow you on medication for as long as necessary or useful. CPS psychiatrists do not ordinarily continue prescribing to a given student beyond the initial consultation and stabilization period, consistent with CPS’ mission to make its resources readily accessible to the entire Columbia community.

To accommodate all students who need services, our psychiatrists do not conduct psychotherapy but instead focus on medication consultation and management. We have a large staff of psychologists and social workers who can meet with you for psychotherapy and crisis intervention.

During your first visit, your psychiatrist will ordinarily make a thorough assessment of your symptoms and the history of your problems in order to evaluate the potential benefits of medication as a treatment option. He or she will also ask about your family history as well as any medical problems from which you might suffer. He or she will then discuss with you the advantages and disadvantages of medication as a treatment choice including potential side effects. You can then make an informed decision about whether or not you would like to try medication.

Your initial visit is ordinarily from ½ hour to 1 hour long. Again, sometimes the visit may be shorter in order to allow you to see a psychiatrist sooner rather than waiting for a full length appointment. Your psychiatrist has a great deal of training and experience in knowing the most important questions to ask, and can gather a great deal of information in a relatively short amount of time. Also, you will have met with a psychologist or social worker before your initial visit with a psychiatrist, and because we work collaboratively at CPS, the psychologist or social worker will have passed along much of the background information your psychiatrist requires before your initial psychiatric consultation.