[LoveMySister]

So glad to have found this forum!

My sister had a serious bipolar episode, and her doctor, who she was seeing for depression, is only part-time and can't give her the attention and time she needs. So she recommended my sister look for a new doctor. My sister really needs to someone right away to help stabilize her and adjust her meds before she can go into therapy.

My sister lives in the Northern Virginia area. Does anyone know of an effective, knowledgeable, kind psychiatrist in Northern Virginia or DC? Any suggestions or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

[sideblinded]

Hello LoveMySister

Welcome to PC. I am from Virginia but I haven't been there in so long I wouldn't know of one. You are a great sibling for looking out for her. That is really admirable. I do know that northern Virginia is huge. It is the suburbs of Washington, DC. There are tons of doctors there. If your sister has a family practice doctor, she or he should be able to either help out or refer her to a new doc or psychiatrist. You could do a search on the internet and come up with some docs close to where she lives. One problem I see is that the area is so large and congested with traffic up there that a local referral would be the easiest way to get her help. I hope that you are able to find her help for her issues.

If you have any questions about how to navigate this site feel free to contact any community liaison or moderator. I wish you the very best here.

[kaliope]

hi love my sister
psychiatrists are hard to find. a good way to get a recommendation is through your primary care physician. they usually like to know who they wan to work with. barring that, due to the shortage and difficulty getting in, it is a trip thru the phone book and making phone calls to who is in your insurance plan. welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

[CANDC]

lovemysister, welcome to Psych Central. What I did is go to the website of the insurance company I am enrolled in (Blue Cross) and they had a search for a doctor by specialty. They also mentioned if they were accepting patients. Also let me search by city or zip code.

Then when you get a list of possible ones you could contact your PCP or other people that might give referrals.

[healingme4me]

Welcome to PC, love my sister. I agree about utilizing the insurance company. Another thought is calling a local hospital and checking with a psyche nurse about options. To adjust meds and pdocs typically have three month waits on new patients where I am, is there an outpatient option, is inpatient viable, ask for local resources, hopefully they can be helpful?

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