- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Dr. Gabrielle Melin, board certified in general psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, is looking for ways to empower patients and families dealing with chronic mental illness. She encourages patients to commit to working together with their physicians and health care teams.
Dr. Melin completed medical school at the University of Minnesota. She completed both her psychiatry residency and consultation-liaison fellowship at Mayo Clinic before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 2001. She is medical director of Mayo Clinic Psychiatry Emergency Services in Rochester, Minn. She has special interests in emergency psychiatry, adult psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.
"Instilling hope is one of the most important things we can do for patients and families. Mental illness can be chronic and significantly impacts lives. Our goal is to provide the best treatment and education so that patients can manage their symptoms more effectively," she said.
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Depression blog
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Sept. 1, 2009
Blog: Who treats your depression?
By Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Primary care providers prescribe antidepressants in far greater numbers than mental health providers because of a shortage of mental health specialists.
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Therefore, if you have depression or other mental health issues, seeing your primary care provider may be your only option. If so, be assured they are well trained to deal with most cases. Of course, some people will need ongoing care from a trained mental health provider.
The good news is that mental health providers and primary care providers are getting better at working together. Also, efforts are underway to educate and provide ongoing support to primary care providers on how to both diagnose and treat depression effectively.
For instance, one program has primary care providers screen all patients seen at primary care clinic visits for depression. Depending on the results, patients are then referred on to nurses and therapists, who consult with a psychiatrist. Efforts like this have been encouraging, and hopefully this example will soon become commonplace. The bottom line is that primary care providers are qualified to treat most cases of depression. So, don't be discouraged if you can't find a mental health specialist right away. Start first with your primary care physician and see if he or she is able to help you.
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