Psychiatry and Substance Use Services (PASS)

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has completed medical school and goes on to get trained in the specialty of psychiatry.  People often get this term confused with the term psychologist.  A psychologist provides psychotherapy after completing a graduate program in the field of Psychology and receives a PhD or PsyD.  They do not prescribe medication.

A psychiatric nurse practitioner is someone who has completed a nursing degree, and then goes on to receive advanced practice training in the field of psychiatry.  Psychiatric nurse practitioners can prescribe psychiatric medications.

We provide psychiatric evaluations and ongoing medication management as needed.

Please contact our front desk at 301.314.8106. Our Administrative Assistants will help you schedule your appointment and provide you with important information regarding required forms to complete before your first appointment.

Assessment

• If you know you need medication, we will review our concerns, symptoms, history, and medical issues with you and recommendations will be made. Together, you and your psychiatric provider will devise a treatment plan.
• If you think you might need medication, our licensed psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners can help you decide if medications are right for you.  Your concerns, symptoms, history, and medical issues will be discussed with you and a treatment plan will be devised with you, which may or may not include prescription of medications.

Continuation of Medication

If your prescriber is out of state or no longer available, we can continue your medications and adjust as necessary, when a new patient appointment becomes available.  Once you are stable you may be referred to primary care or to an outside psychiatrist for follow-up.

If you already have a prescriber nearby, it is recommended that you continue with that provider if you are able to do so.

We have always worked closely with our Primary Care team.  We are now making an effort to more fully integrate our services with them.  This can take the form of a referral to Psychiatry and Substance Use Services (PASS) from a Health Center Primary Care provider or having our PCBH care clinician send you screening questionnaires to track any depression or anxiety you may be feeling.  They may then offer you an appointment in PASS if your screening suggests that you might benefit from one.

The Substance Use Intervention and Treatment (SUIT) Program is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of substance use disorder experts from the fields of Addiction Medicine, social work, and counseling. Together they oversee an array of services for students who may be struggling with alcohol or drug use, through both voluntary and mandatory services. 

Click below to learn more.

The Behavioral Health Service requires documentation of ADHD diagnostic evaluation and treatment provided by the previous treating physician or other licensed professional. Medical records are required.

Accepted Documentation:     

• a copy of Neuropsychological assessment, including formal diagnosis of ADHD
• a copy of a psychoeducational assessment, including formal diagnosis of ADHD

Unaccepted Documentation:

The following items are considered inadequate documentation of ADHD diagnosis and treatment and will not be accepted at BHS: 

• Summary letters from prior prescribers
• prescriptions
• pill containers
• parent notes or any other similar notations of previous ADHD diagnosis

Students approved to be seen must complete their informational phone call and do the following prior to making their first appointment:

• Send in all copies of valid documentation
• Complete a drug screen in the Health Center
• Complete ASSIST Marijuana survey

Evidence of early childhood symptoms is typically necessary for the diagnosis of ADHD. Attention and concentration concerns can be key components of many health diagnoses such as depression and/or anxiety.  If you struggle with those symptoms of these (other) conditions, we can help to assess and treat them.  If, after those conditions have been treated, you and your provider still believe you may have ADHD, we can help you find options for testing to confirm a diagnosis of ADHD.  Once that is done, we will discuss and manage the ADHD with medication as one option for treatment. 

Please call 301.314.8106 to schedule an appointment.  You may also use the MyUHC patient portal below to send a secure message to your provider. 

• Before your visit, please complete and submit the Informed Consent for Teletherapy/Telehealth form
• For Information about patient fees and billing, please click here.

The University Health Center keeps medical records in compliance with professional, legal, and ethical guidelines. No one will access records except authorized staff unless the patient provides written permission by completing the Patient Authorization Release of Information Form. 

Mental Health records will not become a part of the patient's academic file. Medical records will not be disclosed without the patients permission.

If you are concerned about the mental health of a fellow UMD student, please contact the University Counseling Center as a place to start.

Please note: Because of confidentiality, we cannot release any information about students in our care, however we can provide general guidance and listen to any information or concerns you wish to share with us.

Exceptions to confidentiality include: imminent danger to self or others, patient records subpoenaed by a court, or in accordance with Maryland state laws regarding child abuse.

Effective treatment requires an atmosphere of trust.  Please raise any questions about our confidentiality policy with your clinician.