Outpatient mental health care

When you go through an outpatient mental health program, you get the opportunity to practice the skills you learn in therapy in day-to-day situations while maintaining continued support and treatment in our care.

Our counselors and staff are here to help you manage your daily responsibilities and demands, and our goal is to help you transition to a lifestyle with less frequent outpatient counseling.

Our outpatient behavioral health programs are appropriate for patients with mental health conditions who require a structured program of therapy. This includes therapy for multiple hours a day, several times per week.

Our outpatient behavioral health services include two dedicated programs:

Our intensive outpatient program (IOP)

Our IOP is designed to meet the needs of patients who:

• Are likely to benefit from a coordinated program
• Are not deemed to be acutely dangerous to themselves or others
• Have an adequate support system outside of a hospital setting
• Need a structured environment but not 24-hour supervision
• Require more than unscheduled sessions of a lower level of mental health care

Our intensive outpatient program for adolescents (S.A.I.L. - Seeking An Incredible Life)

Our S.A.I.L. intensive outpatient program for adolescents is appropriate for youth between 12 and 17 years old struggling with:

• Crisis management
• Symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder and/or anxiety
• Non-suicidal self-injurious behavior
• Self-esteem and body image
• Gender identity and expression
• Family conflict

The program is structured to provide more support than traditional outpatient therapy. Groups are facilitated by a licensed therapist trained in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychoeducation (PE). Skills learned can be applied at home, in school and in the community to help youth live their best life.

Participants attend three-hour sessions after school several times a week, and have the opportunity to meet individually with a therapist and psychiatrist.

Program hours: Monday through Thursday 3:30pm to 6:30pm.

Our partial hospitalization program (PHP)

Our PHP is appropriate for patients who:

• Are not deemed to be acutely dangerous to themselves or others
• Have an adequate support system outside of a hospital setting
• May have previously been in an inpatient or residential program and require a "step down" to the next level of care
• Need a structured environment but not 24-hour supervision
• Require outpatient psychiatric treatment during times of the day identified as "most troublesome" for patients

The treatments and therapies offered in our IOP and PHP are tailored to meet your specific needs. When participating in one of our programs, patients may:

• Attend individual and group sessions that use evidence-based approaches, such as:
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Solution-focused therapy and positive psychology
  • Trauma-informed care and/or accelerated resolution therapy (ART)
• Establish an environment where you may help, support and confront other patients, when necessary
• Improve interpersonal functioning
• Improve self-assessment skills to anticipate problems and learn healthy alternatives
• Introduce structure and discipline into your life
• Learn about mental illness and the best treatment options
• Learn practical skills to manage problematic behaviors and painful feelings that may inhibit progress

We offer uninterrupted compassionate care for your physical and mental health and wellness even if you cannot leave your home or have concerns about COVID-19. This option lets you participate virtually in our IOP and PHP. In this way, we allow patients to continue to receive needed treatment in a format that makes sense given the environment today.

How does the telehealth behavioral program work?

We use technology to keep our patients and team members safe while continuing to provide the care our patients need.

Our telehealth behavioral program allows us to:

• Deliver expert clinical care to patients who are unable to continue in-person treatment
• Ensure patient confidentiality with informed consent for treatment
• Establish a plan for psychiatric emergencies that may present during a telehealth visit and review it with each patient before each session
• Reduce potential exposure to viral pathogens, while maintaining a patient’s connection to others
• Utilize WebEx Meetings, a secure HIPAA compliant platform that is easy to use for both the provider and the patient

Who qualifies for the telehealth behavioral program?

Telehealth services may not be an appropriate fit for everyone. Our team will evaluate each potential patient to determine their best course of therapy and care.

If deemed appropriate, our team will help you get trained and set up for the telehealth program.

To participate in our telehealth behavioral program, patients will need:

• Access to a laptop, tablet or mobile device
• Ability to download the WebEx Meetings app
• Ability to navigate the tele-platform
• Cell data or WiFi access

If you, a loved one is in need of inpatient or outpatient behavioral health services, please call us at (850) 315-8009.

If you are a physician with a patient referral, you may fax us at (850) 315-7836.

IOP and PHP are not appropriate for patients with severe mental illnesses that cannot be maintained while living at home and actively participating in the community. Our hospital offers inpatient mental health services, which may be beneficial to patients who need more supervised care.

To participate in our IOP or PHP, you must:

• Be 12 years old or older
• Exhibit mental health symptoms that significantly impair social, occupational and other important areas of function
• Otherwise require admission to an inpatient hospital or receive continued treatment at a higher level of care

With outpatient mental health treatment, the goal is to prevent the need for a higher level of care. Treatment is expected to improve and/or maintain your mental health condition and everyday functionality.

Exclusion criteria

If you exhibit the following, you would not be eligible for one of our outpatient behavioral health programs:

• Are judged to be acutely dangerous to yourself or others
• Experience addiction problems that would interfere with your ability to benefit from treatment (or interfere with other patients' treatments)
• Refuse to or cannot participate in an active treatment process due to your behavioral, cognitive or emotional status
• Require primarily social, custodial, recreational or respite care with no evidence that active treatment would modify your clinical course

Physician referrals to our outpatient therapy programs

If you are a physician with a patient referral, please fax the following documents, if available, to (850) 315-7836.

• Applicable progress notes
• Copy of insurance cards
• Current history and physical or psychiatric evaluation
• List of current medications
• Signed release of information