Living with schizophrenia takes steady care. Let's build it together.
Dr. McDade looks at the whole picture, from your symptoms to your health and daily life, and builds the plan with you. Every visit is with her, from an unhurried first evaluation to each follow-up, by secure video in Texas.
Opens the booking page. A brief screening confirms fit before your first visit.
- Every visit with Dr. McDade
- 60 to 90 minute first visit
- No referral needed
The answer
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. It can bring hallucinations, delusions, and unusual thinking, along with loss of motivation and trouble with attention and memory, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains. Treatment can help people engage in school or work and enjoy their relationships, the NIMH adds. Dr. McDade provides medication management and steady follow-up, and builds the plan with you. You deserve care that stays steady.
If you need help now
If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred relay service or dial 711, then 988. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. This practice does not provide emergency services.
Who will you see?
Dr. McDade, at every visit. Health & Harmony Psychiatry is a physician-only practice, so every follow-up is with the physician who already knows your story.
Your story carries forward from visit to visit. Because she knows your history, she can tell whether short sleep is your normal or a change worth a closer look.
The practice provides psychiatric evaluation, medication management, follow-up, and coordination with the patient's other clinicians. Full recovery is the goal, even if the best path is a referral.
What can schizophrenia look like?
Its symptoms fall into three main groups, psychotic, negative, and cognitive, the NIMH explains. For some people, the psychotic symptoms come and go.
Psychotic symptoms
- Seeing or hearing things that are not there
- Strong beliefs that are not true and may seem irrational to others
- Thinking that is unusual or illogical
Negative and cognitive symptoms
- Loss of motivation or interest in daily activities
- Pulling away from social life
- Trouble showing emotions
- Trouble with attention, concentration, and memory
If some of this sounds familiar, a careful evaluation can sort out what is behind it.
People are usually diagnosed between the ages of 16 and 30, after a first episode of psychosis, the NIMH notes. Gradual changes in thinking, mood, and social life often come first. Negative symptoms, like low motivation or pulling away from people, are sometimes mistaken for depression.
How does Dr. McDade treat schizophrenia?
She starts with a careful evaluation. Your first evaluation looks at your medical history and current stressors as well as your symptoms.
Antipsychotic medication can help make psychotic symptoms less intense and less frequent, the NIMH explains. People respond in different ways, and some try several medications before finding the one that works best. Medication decisions start with context. Dr. McDade explains why one option might be considered over another, and you decide together. Talk with her before you stop or change a medication, so she can adjust the plan safely.
Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy and skills training are often used along with medication, the NIMH notes. People who take part in them regularly are less likely to have symptoms return or to be hospitalized. Follow-up visits run 15 to 30 minutes by secure video.
Schizophrenia is manageable. With steady treatment and support, people build lives that are stable, connected, and their own.
Dr. Allison J. McDade, MDEvery plan starts with a careful look.
How can family and friends help?
You can help by supporting treatment and looking after yourself, the NIMH advises.
With your loved one
- Help them get treatment, and encourage them to stay in it
- Know that their beliefs or hallucinations seem very real to them
- Be respectful, supportive, and kind, while setting limits on dangerous behavior
For yourself
- Look for family education programs and support groups
- Look after your own stress and coping
Most people with schizophrenia are not violent, the NIMH notes. The risk of harm is highest when the illness goes untreated or comes with alcohol or drug misuse.
If you need help now
If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred relay service or dial 711, then 988. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. This practice does not provide emergency services.
Questions about schizophrenia care
Is schizophrenia the same as split personality?
No. Schizophrenia is a different condition from dissociative identity disorder, which used to be called multiple personality disorder or split personality, the NIMH explains.
Is care by video a good fit for schizophrenia?
It can be. A brief screening first confirms that telepsychiatry fits your needs. Care here is outpatient care by secure video, with medication management and steady follow-up with Dr. McDade. When a patient needs intensive outpatient care, she refers to local or virtual IOPs.
Do I have to take medication?
No. Whether to start a medication, and where, is a decision you and Dr. McDade make together, after she explains what she recommends and why. If you already take one, talk with the clinician who prescribes it before you stop, as the NIMH advises.
How much does care cost?
Care is cash pay. A new evaluation with Dr. McDade is $465, and follow-up visits with Dr. McDade are $275. You receive a good faith estimate before your first visit.
Does Dr. McDade take insurance?
No. Care is cash pay, with rates set in advance and shared up front. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate explaining how much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who do not have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
Is this an emergency service?
No. Health & Harmony Psychiatry does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911.
Sources for the facts on this page.
- Schizophrenia, National Institute of Mental Health, December 2024
- Schizophrenia, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 24-MH-8082, 2024
The information on this website is for general education and does not constitute medical advice or create a physician-patient relationship. For care, please schedule an appointment.
Care Through Connection
Steady, connected care, and a plan built with you.
Book the first visit online, or call 832.387.6088 with questions. A parent or guardian books for anyone under 18, and a brief screening confirms fit before your first visit.
Health & Harmony Psychiatry does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911. Ages 6 to 70. Health & Harmony Psychiatry provides care by secure video to patients physically located in Texas at the time of their appointment.