Structured group and individual therapy several days a week, with medication management built into the same plan.
How we work
Medication management
in Houston
Medication management is psychiatric care for your mental health: a prescriber evaluates you, starts the right medication, and adjusts it over time so it actually helps. At The Lovett Center it is outpatient and collaborative, and it works alongside your therapy, never in place of it. You meet with a prescriber who knows your history and stays with you as things change.
Outpatient psychiatric care in Montrose, Houston. Most major insurance accepted.
The approach
Medication and therapy,
working together.
Medication management is not a prescription handed over and forgotten. It is an ongoing relationship with a prescriber who evaluates what is going on, chooses a medication with you, and adjusts it as your life and symptoms change.
For many people, the right medication quiets the symptoms that make everything else harder: the low that will not lift, the worry that will not slow down, the moods that swing without warning. When those settle, therapy and daily life have room to work.
At The Lovett Center, medication is one part of a fuller plan. You meet with a prescriber for the evaluation and ongoing monitoring, and you take part in the therapy and group work of our outpatient programs. We treat the whole person, on an outpatient basis, so you can keep living your life while you get steady.
Where it helps
What we use medication
management for.
Medication management is most useful for the mental health conditions where the right medication can ease symptoms enough for the rest of treatment to take hold. These are the conditions we most often treat with it, always as one part of a fuller outpatient plan.
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Depression
When a depressed mood will not lift on its own, an antidepressant managed and adjusted over time can ease symptoms enough for therapy and routine to take hold.
Depression care -
Anxiety disorders
For anxiety that runs in the background of everything, the right medication can lower the volume so the skills you build in therapy have a chance to land.
Anxiety care -
Bipolar disorder
Mood-stabilizing medication is often central to bipolar care. We prescribe and monitor it closely, watching for the shifts that throw life off balance.
Bipolar disorder care -
OCD
Medication can reduce the grip of obsessions and compulsions, and it works best paired with the exposure-based therapy that treats OCD directly.
OCD care -
Mood disorders
For the broader range of mood disorders, a prescriber tailors the medication and the dose to your pattern, and adjusts it as you go.
Mood disorder care -
Co-occurring mental health and substance use
When a mental health condition and a substance use disorder show up together, we treat both at once and coordinate psychiatric medication with the rest of your care.
Dual diagnosis care
Is it right for you
When medication management
is the right fit.
Medication helps a lot of people, but it is one tool among several, and it is not always the first step. Here is an honest read on when it fits, and when we would start somewhere else.
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A good fit when symptoms keep getting in the way despite your best efforts
If low mood, anxiety, or mood swings keep derailing work, sleep, or relationships, the right medication can steady you enough to do the rest of the work.
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A good fit when you want medication paired with real therapy
Medication management at Lovett is never a prescription on its own. It comes with therapy, groups, and a team who knows you, which is what makes it hold.
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A good fit when you need steady monitoring, not a one-time script
Finding the right medication and dose takes follow-up. We check in, watch for side effects, and adjust with you over time, rather than leaving you to manage it alone.
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When therapy may be the better place to start
For milder or situational struggles, therapy alone is sometimes the right first step. If so, we will say that honestly rather than reach for a prescription.
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When a higher level of monitoring is needed
Some situations need closer medical supervision than an outpatient center provides. If that is you, we will help you find the right setting, then welcome you back for ongoing care. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 any time.
The evidence
A collaborative, evidence-based
approach.
Medication for mental health works best when it is chosen carefully and managed over time. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that medications are often used alongside psychotherapy, and that it can take more than one try to find the medication and dose that help the most with the fewest side effects. That is exactly why ongoing management, not a single prescription, is the point.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication, rule out other medical causes, and combine medication with therapy. The American Psychiatric Association notes that for many conditions, combined treatment, medication together with psychotherapy, is more effective than either part alone and can lower the chance of relapse.
Psychiatric medications also take time and follow-up. Cleveland Clinic notes that many take several weeks to reach their full effect, that a provider should check in and adjust the dose along the way, and that you should not stop suddenly on your own, since coming off a medication is safest done gradually with your prescriber.
At The Lovett Center, medication management is led by a prescriber, including Chad Lemaire, MD, DFAPA, our psychiatrist. He and our clinicians build each plan around your history and your goals and weave the medication into the therapy and group work of our outpatient programs. When a substance use disorder is also in the picture, our dual diagnosis care coordinates psychiatric medication with addiction treatment, overseen with our medical director, Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM.
Where it happens
Care that fits
your life.
Medication management at The Lovett Center lives inside our outpatient programs, so the medication, your therapy, and your care team all work from the same plan. The right level of structure depends on where you are right now.
A steadier pace of individual sessions and medication monitoring, including step-down care after a more intensive program.
Integrated care for when a mental health condition and a substance use disorder show up together.
Common questions
Medication management,
answered.
Psychiatric medication management is ongoing care in which a prescriber evaluates your mental health, prescribes medication when it will help, and monitors and adjusts it over time. It is more than a single prescription: it is a relationship built around follow-up, side-effect checks, and changes to the plan as your symptoms and your life change. At The Lovett Center it is outpatient and works alongside your therapy.
For many people, the answer is both. Research summarized by the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Association finds that combining medication with psychotherapy is often more effective than either one alone, especially for conditions like depression. For milder struggles, therapy may be enough on its own. We help you sort out which path fits, and we adjust as you go rather than locking you into one answer.
A licensed prescriber does, including our psychiatrist, Chad Lemaire, MD, DFAPA. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can evaluate your mental health, rule out other medical causes, prescribe medication, and combine it with therapy. Your prescriber builds the plan with you and stays involved for the follow-up and adjustments that make medication work.
Meet our psychiatristIt depends on the medication, but many take time. Cleveland Clinic notes that some psychiatric medications, such as antidepressants, can take several weeks to reach their full effect, and you may notice changes in sleep, appetite, or energy before your mood shifts. That is why follow-up matters: your prescriber checks in, watches for side effects, and adjusts the dose with you rather than expecting the first try to be perfect.
Tell your prescriber, and do not stop on your own. Many side effects ease with time or can be reduced by adjusting the dose or switching medications, which is part of what ongoing management is for. Stopping suddenly can cause uncomfortable symptoms, so if you want to come off a medication, your prescriber will help you do it gradually and safely. The goal is always a plan you are comfortable staying on.
No. Medication management is psychiatric care for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, is a specific, FDA-approved approach for opioid and alcohol use disorder that pairs medication with counseling. They can work together when a mental health condition and a substance use disorder occur at once, but they are different services. If you are looking for help with substance use, our MAT page is the place to start.
Medication-assisted treatmentOften, yes. The Lovett Center is in network with major insurers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Magellan, and TriWest, and we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay. Because coverage and any out-of-pocket cost vary by plan, the surest way to know is to verify your benefits with us.
Verify your insuranceStart the conversation
Ready to find
the right plan?
When you are ready, a real person at The Lovett Center will listen and help you find the next step, whether that is medication management, therapy, or simply a conversation about what is going on. No pressure, no commitment.
- A real person, not a call center
- Most major insurance accepted
- Confidential from the first call
Prefer to call?
(713) 589-5991Every conversation is confidential. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.