Substance use disorders affect mental and physical health and make it hard to stop using alcohol or drugs even when they cause harm. Board-certified nurse practitioner Patrick Ollar, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, provides telehealth psychiatric care through Life Balance Health for patients in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Yuba City, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Portland, Oregon. Life Balance Health offers evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment planning for substance use disorders in a supportive, judgment-free setting. Call Life Balance Health or book online today to discuss substance use disorder treatment.
Substance use disorders are medical conditions that affect the brain and behavior. They involve ongoing use of alcohol or drugs despite problems with health, work, school, relationships, and daily responsibilities.
Over time, substance use can become harder to control. To complicate matters, substance use disorders often happen alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, and other psychiatric conditions.
Patrick begins substance use disorder treatment with a careful psychiatric evaluation. He reviews symptoms, substance use patterns, mental health concerns, daily functioning, and safety issues before building a treatment plan.
Substance use disorder symptoms may include:
Some people also start pulling away from family, losing interest in normal routines, or taking risks they wouldn’t usually take. These changes often build gradually, which can make the problem easier to overlook at first.
Substance use disorders can involve:
Substance use disorder severity varies, but the impact on mental and physical health can be considerable. The right treatment depends on the substance involved, how often you use it, and how strongly it affects daily life.
Patrick looks at the full picture before making recommendations. That includes the substance you use, the pattern of use, the presence of co-occurring mental health symptoms, and your goals for treatment and recovery.
Substance use disorder treatment often includes therapy, medication, education, relapse prevention planning, and ongoing follow-up.
Behavioral approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and contingency management help you understand triggers, build coping skills, and strengthen motivation for change.
Some patients also benefit from medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms, especially for opioid and alcohol use disorders.
Life Balance Health provides psychiatric assessment, treatment planning, and telehealth follow-up to support recovery and address co-occurring mental health symptoms when they’re present.
You should seek substance use disorder treatment when substance use starts affecting your health, mood, sleep, work, relationships, and other parts of daily life. Early support can reduce risk and improve your chances of achieving long-term sobriety.
Call Life Balance Health today or use the online booking tool to request a substance use disorder evaluation.