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Episode 2 of SCOOT's 2nd season bridges the gap between mental health and medicine through an educational conversation with Drs. Vishal and Jyostna Adma. The physician executives and and married couple make for a winning team on the subject of psychiatry with host Claire Calfo.
Husband and wife Dr. Vishal and Dr. Jyotsna Adma founded and run a practice called Integrated Psychiatric Consulting (IPC), “a physician owned and operated group with board certified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners that provide end-to-end solutions for organizations of all types.” Dr. Vishal is president and CEO, while Dr. Jyostna is executive medical director for the group. "Over the years we have morphed into the biggest organization of its kind," says Dr. Vishal Adma. "{We offer} support to all ages, residential, outpatient, and have 30-40% of services focused on providing psychiatric care." As mental health conditions have the potential to impact us in every life phase, a holistic approach to mental healthcare becomes that important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site, 1 in 5 people will have experienced a mental health issue over their lifetime. Among children, 1 in 5 will experience a seriously debilitating mental illness. Dr. Jyostna Adma grew up in India, and obtained degrees both abroad and stateside in the psychiatric field. During a fellowship at University of Kansas, she trained to treat children, adolescents, and adults in the realm of psychiatry. Born in Southern India, Dr. Vishal Adma moved to the United States in the early 90s for his residency at the University of Kansas. The pair joined their professional vision to form IPC. Once a single physician practice, IPC has grown into a group retaining over 50 medical professionals. Dr. Jyostna Adma always knew she “...wanted to something with kids...my interactions (during residency) triggered an interest in the brain and psychiatry. Child psychiatry, that's it. It felt like a good combination, science of the brain and children." The Admas quickly noticed that prescriptive medicine and behavioral therapy didn’t appear to be equally focused or approached holistically. Dr. Vishal observes, " Primary care doctors will make up 50% of mental health field, in internal medicine, family medicine [and others], but most primary (physicians) have almost zero training in psychiatry during residency years." Dr. Jyostna supplies a key example of this divide between disciplines. "Psychiatrists go to medical school and have exposure to different forms of therapy. They’re trained in the biological space so they can recommend different treatment plans using medication. A psychologist is more trained to diagnose and focus is primarily on behavioral therapy." Each counterpart is important, but "(Are we) getting the whole picture of what is going wrong, does there seem to be a gap in the treatment {people are} receiving?" asks our host, Claire Calfo. "Our hope was and is at some point educational institutions will look and say doctors need more training in mental health [as well]", explains Dr. Vishal. Some states give permission for psychs to recommend medications with additional training, according to Dr. Jyotsna, but the gap remains between true synergy of the two. The Admas believe that language is key in defining and understanding the intersection of prescriptive science and psychology. When asked about the difference between behavioral health and mental health, Dr. Vishal shares that these terms are often used “interchangeably…Behavioral health is more focused on specific symptoms related to other specific behaviors like addiction.” He explains further that there is a difference between behavior and actual mental health: “Part of the thinking is behaviors develop the addiction or the reason for it {such as} eating too much…not having restrictions on diet, and then overeating can cause medical problems over time. So that is a behavioral health issue that influences mental health. Lately people are using the term mental health and or referring to mental wellness. I think I'm a fan of any term that has less stigma attached." Dr. Jyotsna agrees, saying that "...there's a myth out there that 'people need to be able to control their emotions and behaviors'. So then when a child is struggling the expectation is you need to be controlling this, you should not be feeling this way. If you can understand asthma or high blood pressure, its an interplay of various factors, changes in mood, behaviors, physical symptoms. For asthma you would give an inhaler, you would not say, you need to breathe by yourself." De-stigmatizing the discussions around mental health in traditional settings is critical to paving the way for real mental wellness, or progress in its direction. Part of removing the difficulty in how we view psychiatry lies in its access, something Drs. Viashal and Jyotsna Adma are proud of advocating. "Our group was using telehealth in 2003!" says Dr. Vishal. "We had children in various rural counties or foster programs, so children had no providers." The Admas have always been ahead of the curve in terms of access, in particular during COVID restrictions. "You can never replace human presence. That’s the idea, is to have human connection. Nothing can replace it, but this is also equally helpful with a lot of advantages. It saves travel time, helps with anxiety, might increase the percentage of people showing for appointments. For children..this is their normal", finishes Dr. Jyotsna. For more insight on Dr. Vishal and Dr. Jyotsna's story, work, and Integrated Psychiatric Consultants, you can listen to their interview on Scoot, wherever you listen to podcasts. Here is the Spotify link: spotify season 2 episode 2 understanding the ways to seek help Learn more about our organization: http://www.scootyfund.org. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. Learn more about Integrated Psychiatric Consultants (IPC) at https://www.integrated-pc.com/ You can follow Integrated Psychiatric Consultants on Instagram: Integrated Psych Consultants (@integrated_pc)
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