Sometimes you will need to go to the emergency room because of new symptoms or a worsening of your mental health condition. After you are discharged, it is extremely important to follow up with outpatient treatment to continue your recovery process. You can help by asking that the emergency room nurse or social worker follows up with your outpatient provider, ideally your psychiatrist, letting them know about your visit. Also, you should bring a copy of your Emergency Department record/discharge paperwork with you to your next outpatient visit. You should make sure and see your outpatient psychiatrist as quickly as possible. See this helpful blog post from NAMI on compassionate care in the emergency room.