Welcome to New Direction Functional Psychiatry

Welcome to New Direction
Functional Psychiatry
An adult and child psychiatrist located in Lancaster, PA

An adult and child psychiatrist located in Lancaster, PA

About New Direction Functional Psychiatry

We provide residents of Lancaster, PA, with a path toward enhanced mental health, and relief from a wide range of common challenges. Under the leadership of board-certified adult and child psychiatrist Sarah Gatumu, MD, the practice is thriving, and quickly becoming one of the most highly sought-after psychiatry practices in the region

About New Direction Functional Psychiatry

How we operate

We provide residents of Lancaster, PA with a path toward enhanced mental health, and relief from a wide range of common challenges. Under the leadership of board-certified adult and child psychiatrist Sarah Gatumu, MD, the practice is thriving, and quickly becoming one of the most highly sought-after psychiatry practices in the region.

How we operate

Our mission

Getting to the root cause rather than dealing with the leaves.

About Dr. Sarah

Sarah Gatumu, MD, is a board-certified, accomplished adult and child psychiatrist passionate about providing highly personalized care. Dr. Gatumu founded New Direction Functional Psychiatry to serve as a mental health resource for the community of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and takes great pride in the outcomes enjoyed by those who entrust New Direction with their care.

Education has always shaped Dr. Gatumu’s journey. She earned her medical degree from the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences in Kenya. Upon arriving in the United States, Dr. Gatumu completed an internship at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, New York.

Our Services

Insurance

We accept most insurance providers. If you have specific questions regarding your coverage, please contact us for additional information

Contact Us

Address: 1661 Old Philadelphia Pike,
Suite C, Lancaster, PA 17602.

Phone: 814-810-8626

Office Hours:

Monday to Friday — 9am to 7pm

Saturday — By appointment only

Sunday — Closed

COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION

What is a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation?

A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is an effort to determine the full scope of an individual’s mental health challenges, needs, and strengths. It seeks to understand how physical, genetic, social, and cognitive elements affect how the individual feels and functions daily.

Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations sometimes occur due to problems at school, work, or within social settings. Issues like sleep disruption, substance abuse, emotional distress, or disordered thinking can all bring people in for this essential first step in the treatment process.

What should I expect during my comprehensive psychiatric evaluation?

The process is highly personalized, and your comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is shaped to align with your unique set of circumstances. Some of the elements you can expect include:

Description of your behaviors, including when and how they arise
Discussion of your symptoms, both psychiatric and physical
Exploration of how behaviors and symptoms affect relationships
Personal and family health history, including psychiatric health
Lab testing (as needed)
GeneSight® pharmacogenomic testing (as needed)

While the comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is an individualized experience, family members and loved ones can be included in the treatment planning process.

What kinds of treatments are available from the practice?

New Direction Functional Psychiatry strives to remain on the cutting edge of psychiatric assessment and treatment. New technologies are always being evaluated to ensure the treatment options available through the practice represent the highest industry standards.

Talk therapy is a powerful approach and involves working one-on-one with a trained therapist to better understand the connections between thoughts and behaviors, as well as the issues that create and fuel mental health problems.

Medication can also be a powerful tool in treating certain mental health conditions. Options like esketamine therapy are helpful to many, and many other drugs are designed to address specific needs. Professional medication management is essential in ensuring that drug therapy is working for and not against you.

GeneSight pharmacogenomic testing helps determine how genetic factors might influence the way your body responds to various forms of drug therapy.

For those who have not found relief from depression through traditional treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy can deliver impressive improvements. Optimizing micronutrients through supplements is another approach that offers a path toward relief.

When you’re ready to begin, call or click to schedule an assessment today.

OCD

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health disorder characterized by unwanted and recurring thoughts.

Obsessions

Obsessions are impulses or thoughts that individuals do not want and cannot control. These thoughts are often accompanied by feelings of fear, doubt, and disgust. People with OCD often understand that obsessive thoughts are not logical.

Compulsions

A compulsion is a behavior or action that a person feels compelled to perform as a result of obsessive thoughts. Performing the action can temporarily relieve the emotional distress caused by an obsessive thought.

In America, people often refer to OCD in a casual manner. In reality, this condition is incredibly disruptive to those who suffer from OCD.

What are some signs I might have OCD?

Understanding the symptoms of OCD can help you know when to take action for yourself or a loved one. Some of the indications of this mental health disorder include:

Extreme worry that things are unfinished, out of order, or in disarray
Need to compulsively clean one’s environment or body
Feeling as if one has forgotten something
Need to repeatedly check locks, appliances, or doors
Disturbing thoughts or unwanted images regarding sexual activity
Pervasive worries about sexual harm to oneself or others

These are just some of the ways that OCD can manifest. Anyone who is troubled by unwanted thoughts, repetitive actions, or behaviors that do not seem “normal” should reach out for a diagnostic assessment.

Are there treatments that can help improve OCD?

Treatment can go a long way toward reducing the symptoms of OCD. At New Direction Functional Psychiatry, a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is the first step. This process provides an opportunity for you to share the details of your experience and discuss your personal and family health history.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an approach that helps you learn how to respond to stressful thoughts with appropriate behavior. Your practitioner exposes you to images or situations that provoke obsessive thoughts. In a safe and supportive setting, you work to avoid performing compulsive behaviors as you build stronger coping skills.

Medication can also help treat OCD by using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs to help control obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. It takes time to find the right dosage and to learn how your body will react to drug therapy.

If you need help managing OCD, reach out to New Direction Functional Psychiatry online or by phone to book a visit.

ESKETAMINE

What is the drug esketamine?

Esketamine is derived from the drug ketamine, a medication developed as a sedative. Ketamine has been used for some time in treating depression. Created from the ketamine molecule, esketamine is a more potent form of the drug that delivers results with a lower dosage than ketamine.

This medication is FDA-approved for use in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Clinicians define this condition as an inability to identify 50% or more improvement after trying at least two different medications for depression.

Researchers believe that esketamine works by increasing glutamine levels. This chemical messenger helps relay signaling within your brain.

How is esketamine administered?

Currently, esketamine is administered via nasal spray, similar to the medications you might take to relieve nasal congestion when you have a cold. Because the drug has a risk of side effects and abuse, it is only administered in the presence of a health practitioner.

Once in the office, you administer the medication through a simple nasal spray device. Your practitioner then monitors your condition for a period of time after treatment to ensure you don’t encounter adverse effects. Once your practitioner determines you don’t have troubling side effects, you can move on to the rest of your day.

What are some potential side effects of esketamine therapy?

All medications carry a risk of side effects, including esketamine. However, this form of drug therapy is believed to be a lifesaving treatment path for many people who struggle with depression.

Not everyone who takes esketamine will notice side effects. When they are present, you might experience:

Disassociation
Nausea
Sedation
Dizziness
Anxiety
Lethargy
Vertigo
Increased blood pressure

Uncontrolled hypertension and certain vascular disorders might make you a poor candidate for esketamine. Make sure you share the full details of your health history with your practitioner. If you rely on other drugs, medication management is also important.

In addition to esketamine therapy, your provider might recommend talk therapy, optimizing micronutrients with top-quality supplements, or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). You might also have GeneSight® pharmacogenomic testing to determine how your body will likely respond to this medication.

When you’re ready to get started, call the office to book a visit, or schedule online in just a few clicks.

MICRONUTRIENT SUPPORT

What role do supplements play in mental health?

Your body needs a complex blend of micronutrients to function at peak levels. Nutrition deficiencies can cause many troubling changes, including mental health challenges. Supplements offer a way to add to the nutrients you take in from food sources to create optimal balance.

There are times when an individual assumes they are experiencing a serious mental health condition when in reality, their symptoms are brought on by nutritional deficiencies. Even if you are currently functioning well, incorporating supplements into your daily routine can help make the most of life.

Some of the micronutrients linked to mental health include:

Vitamin B1
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Vitamin D
Folic acid

Lab testing can reveal your current nutrient levels, giving your practitioner guidance on how to create a customized supplementation plan.

What are the benefits of supplements?

You can get all of the nutrients you need through food sources alone. Doing so, however, requires considerable time and effort spent planning, shopping for, and preparing highly nutritious meals.

Meeting this goal is not an easy task for most people, and certainly not on an ongoing basis. For many, the daily stresses of career, family, and community leave little time to put together an optimal nutrition plan.

Supplements help fill in the gaps that exist in your nutritional needs. They deliver a powerful blend of top-quality nutrients that quickly filter into your bloodstream, where they can go to work nourishing your body at the cellular level.

What supplements are right for me?

Never before have there been so many wonderful options when it comes to supplements. This plethora of choices, however, can make it hard to know where to begin when it comes to supplementation.

Your practitioner is here to help, providing customized guidance to help you create a supplementation plan aligned perfectly with your lifestyle and needs. Fueling your body and brain properly will help you feel your best, both mentally and physically.

It’s important to let your practitioner know about all medications you’re taking. Certain supplements can cause negative reactions with some medications or can reduce the efficacy of your drug therapy.

When you’re ready to get started, reach out to New Direction Functional Psychiatry online or by phone to find an appointment time that fits your schedule.

DEPRESSION

What is depression?

Depression is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in everything around you. Clinical depression affects the way you think, feel, and behave, and leads to a range of emotional and physical problems.

Depression isn’t just feeling blue and being unable to snap out of it. But most patients benefit from psychotherapy that helps them understand and work through their depression.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Depression causes you to feel unhappy without knowing why. As a result, your productivity at work, your relationships with others, and your physical health go into decline. Along with a persistent feeling of sadness that you can’t shake off, you may also experience some of the following symptoms:

Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness
Angry outbursts and irritability
Inability to regulate emotions
Loss of interest in everything
Insomnia or disturbed sleep
Fatigue
Anxiety
Reduced appetite
Feelings of guilt and worthlessness
Thoughts of death or suicide

Patients don’t experience all symptoms at once, but if you have these feelings for more than two weeks, get counseling at New Direction Functional Psychiatry.

What causes depression?

As with many mental disorders, the exact causes of depression are unknown, but there are many factors that can increase your chances of having it:

Genetics

Some patients are more prone to depression because of their genetic makeup.

Hormones

Large hormonal changes often trigger depression like during pregnancy or menopause.

Trauma

Traumatic events, especially if experienced as a child, are known to trigger depression in some patients.

Often it’s a combination of factors that cause your depression, but the practice is experienced in helping patients discover the root causes of their illness in order to address their symptoms.

How do you treat depression?

Using evidence-based therapy, the practice creates customized treatment plans based on an individual patient’s needs. The practice uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of talk therapy, to treat depression in patients, TMS, ketamine therapy, and the holistic optimization of micronutrients to help your body heal. In addition to medication management and therapy, the practice utilized gene site testing to make sure your plan is the best for you.

During your sessions, your provider works with you to identify negative thought patterns and replace them with healthier ones. Doing this changes your attitude, which leads to changes in your behavior.

After a few weeks or months, the changes in your outlook and behavioral habits help ease your feelings of depression. Beyond talk therapy, your provider may also suggest some small lifestyle changes like being more active, keeping a journal, and spending less time alone.

If you are suffering from an unexplained sadness or feelings of worthlessness, call the office, or use the online scheduling tool to make an appointment to get counseling today.

ADHD

What is ADHD?

ADHD is a disorder that causes a combination of problems, including impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, and trouble concentrating. This disorder affects millions of children and often continues throughout the person’s life. For some people, ADHD may not be discovered until adulthood.

What causes ADHD?

Researchers don’t precisely know what causes ADHD. However, they believe it comes from a combination of factors: development, environment, and genetics. Several risk factors for ADHD have been identified, including:

Premature birth
Maternal drug use during pregnancy
Exposure to certain toxins
Having blood relatives with ADHD

Though these factors can increase your risk of ADHD, they don’t mean you’ll have it. Your provider can address these factors with you during your comprehensive evaluation.

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

If you have ADHD, you’ll notice a variety of symptoms. Some of the problems you may experience include:

Inability to pay attention
Making careless mistakes
Losing important items frequently
Being distracted easily
Needing to move constantly
Talking too much
Having trouble waiting for a turn

Everyone experiences some of these symptoms on occasion, but if you have ADHD, these symptoms will continue for at least six months, and they’ll significantly affect your life.

How is ADHD diagnosed?

There are several means to diagnose ADHD, and the practice offers testing services. Although no single test can conclusively confirm or rule out ADHD, a thorough evaluation can help the team reach the most accurate diagnosis possible.

During this assessment, the staff at New Direction Functional Psychiatry will consider your medical history, habits, and abilities to perform specific tasks. In most cases, though, the ADHD testing process won’t be quick; lengthy testing is usually required to figure out whether ADHD is the cause of your or your loved one’s problems.

What treatments are available?

One of the most common treatments prescribed to people with ADHD is medication. These drugs balance levels of certain chemicals in the brain so that you won’t have as many ADHD symptoms. However, these medications can cause potentially severe side effects, so it’s essential for you to discuss all the options with your practitioner and weigh everything carefully.

In addition to medication, you may benefit from other treatment options if you have ADHD, including:

Psychotherapy
Family therapy
Behavioral therapy

These therapies may be used on their own or in combination with medication.

To book an appointment with New Direction Functional Psychiatry, call the office or book online today.