PTSD Psychiatric Care in Georgia
Evaluation and medication management for post-traumatic stress across Georgia. We do not provide trauma therapy, and we will tell you why that matters.
What Medication Does for PTSD
Medication reduces the symptoms that make everything else impossible: the sleeplessness, the hypervigilance, the nightmares, the constant readiness for something to go wrong. For many people that is what makes therapy possible.
And What It Does Not Do
What it does not do is process what happened. That is what trauma-focused therapy is for, and it has better evidence for PTSD than medication alone.
We provide the medication half honestly and refer for the other. Sertraline and paroxetine are the two with formal approval for PTSD. Prazosin has good evidence specifically for nightmares.
How Post-Traumatic Stress Presents
Frequently diagnosed as depression or anxiety for years first, because those are the parts that reach a doctor.
Sleep and Hypervigilance
Broken sleep, nightmares, and a body that never quite stands down. Usually the part costing the most day to day, and the part medication helps most.
Avoidance
Steering around places, people and conversations, until the map of ordinary life has a great deal missing from it. It narrows slowly, then all at once.
Prolonged Trauma
It does not have to be one big event. Prolonged trauma, particularly in childhood, produces symptoms that meet criteria just as clearly as a single one.
Why Benzodiazepines Are the Wrong Answer Here
They are still commonly prescribed for PTSD and the evidence is against them. Studies consistently show worse outcomes, poorer response to therapy, and higher rates of dependence in this group specifically.
We do not prescribe them. If you are currently on one we will discuss it honestly rather than simply refusing, and can help plan a taper with your prescriber.
Meet Dr. Ashar N.
Medical Director. DNP, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC. Board-certified as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and as a Family Nurse Practitioner, with a Doctor of Nursing Practice. Treats adults, teenagers and children from six: evaluation and medication management for depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, PTSD, sleep and alcohol use disorder.
Care at Ridge Way is delivered by our clinical team, licensed in Georgia and working with physician oversight. Your history, medication response and treatment decisions are documented in one chart, so another member of the team can review what has already been tried.
What to Expect from the First Visit
Unhurried. You will not be asked for a full account of what happened.
What Has Been Happening
Enough to diagnose and prescribe safely, which is far less than the whole story of what happened.
What Else Is Involved
Sleep, alcohol, depression and any past medication trials. All four change what is tried first.
What You Leave With
A diagnosis where one applies, a plan, and a referral for trauma-focused therapy if that is next.
Every Visit After
Shorter visits that track sleep and hypervigilance, because those move first when it is working.
What We Treat, and What We Refer Out
We provide psychiatric evaluation and medication management. Knowing the limits before you book saves you an appointment spent finding them out.
Trauma-focused therapy has better evidence for PTSD than medication alone. We do not provide it. When it is part of the plan, our medical team can refer you.
Care Available Here
- Evaluation and diagnosis
- Antidepressant management, including for nightmares
- Treatment of co-occurring depression and sleep problems
- Ongoing follow-up, in person or by telehealth
Services We Refer Elsewhere
- Trauma-focused therapy, EMDR and CPT
- Benzodiazepine prescribing
- Inpatient or intensive outpatient care
- Disability or forensic evaluations
PTSD Questions
Do I have to talk about what happened?
Not in detail, and not at the first appointment. We need to know enough to diagnose and prescribe safely, which is considerably less than a full account. Trauma-focused therapy is where the detail belongs, with someone trained for it.
Does it count if it was not one big event?
Yes. Prolonged trauma, particularly in childhood, produces symptoms that meet criteria just as clearly as a single incident does. It is frequently diagnosed as depression or anxiety instead for years.
What helps the nightmares?
Prazosin has specific evidence for trauma nightmares and is well tolerated by most people. It is worth asking about directly if that is the symptom costing you the most.
Can you refer me for trauma therapy?
Yes. We do not provide trauma-focused therapy, but when it is part of your plan our medical team can refer you to a therapist who does.
I need PTSD treatment near me, but there aren’t many providers nearby. What should I do?
Telehealth may give you more options. Ridge Way provides psychiatric evaluation and medication management for PTSD across Georgia, so you can get care without needing a nearby specialist. When appropriate, we can also help coordinate care with a trauma therapist.
What if I am in crisis?
Ridge Way is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health or suicide crisis, call or text 988, any time, or call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225. Crisis resources. For a second, independent read, NIMH’s overview of PTSD covers the same ground.
You Don’t Have to Keep Carrying It
What you’ve been through leaves marks that don’t fade on their own. We’ll take the time to understand your history and where medication can help. Book your evaluation in person or online.
More on PTSD and Trauma
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CPTSD vs PTSD: What Is the Difference?
How complex PTSD differs from PTSD, why one manual lists it and the other does not, and how both are treated with therapy, medication or both.
Read article: CPTSD vs PTSD: What Is the Difference? -
What is PTSD?
What PTSD is, the four symptom groups that define it, who is at risk after trauma, and the therapies and medications with the strongest evidence.
Read article: What is PTSD? -
The science behind PTSD
How trauma changes the brain's alarm and memory systems, why PTSD symptoms persist long after the event, and how treatment helps the brain recover.
Read article: The science behind PTSD
PTSD often occurs with depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorder.