Mental health and wellness

Our inpatient behavioral health center is designed to give you a safe, encouraging environment where psychiatrists and other caregivers can provide 24/7 medical care. The psychiatric team’s primary mission is to help you return to a level of stability that allows you to continue therapy on an intensive outpatient basis.

The treatment approaches taken by our inpatient behavioral health team include therapy sessions focusing on:

• Developing relationship skills
• Improving skills for managing life decisions
• Improving social skills
• Stress management

Our inpatient behavioral health services include:

• 24-hour nursing care by registered nurses with certifications in psychiatric care
• Daily group therapy sessions with licensed masters-level therapists
• Daily therapy sessions with a psychiatrist
• Intensive medication management
• Journaling assignments
• Recreational therapy with a certified therapeutic recreation specialist

To begin the admission process, you can call us at (904) 639-8625.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

ECT is a behavioral health treatment option for severe symptoms of mental illness. ECT is performed using an electrical stimulus placed on the scalp, which causes the brain to release neurotransmitters to produce a generalized seizure in the brain. The controlled seizure activity helps reduce the severity of mental illness and the frequency of symptoms.

ECT at our hospital is performed by psychiatrists with specialty training in administering this type of therapy. It may be used for patients with:

• Bipolar disorder
• Catatonia
• Depression
• Medication resistance
• Psychosis
• Suicidal thoughts

It may also be an option for patients with other similar psychotic disorders. About 80 percent of our patients find rapid relief from their symptoms after a full course of ECT treatments. Before therapy, patients should have a complete psychiatric and medical assessment to determine if this treatment would be beneficial.

Women's therapy group

Female patients in our inpatient unit may benefit from our women's therapy group, where we focus on women's specific therapeutic interventions with an emphasis on:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Family issues
• Grief
• Intimacy concerns
• Postpartum depression
• Relationship issues

Not everyone needs the intensive care associated with an inpatient hospitalization. For people who require highly structured care but not an inpatient hospital stay, we offer several outpatient mental health programs to meet your needs. You may also participate in our outpatient services as a step-down in care following a hospital stay.

Our services include a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) with treatment for:

• Addictions
• Mental health
• Women's issues

Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program

Treatment for teens experiencing emotional or behavioral issues. The Behavioral Health Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program provides an intermediate level of care for teens ages 13-17 who may benefit from more than just individual therapy alone but who are not in need of inpatient care. This level of care provides short-term, intensive programming while participation in regular school and community activities continues.

Led by an experienced team of licensed therapists, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and other professionals, the program uses evidence-based illness management and recovery to provide teens with new tools to manage and resolve the practical challenges of everyday life.

Our program includes:

• Behavioral life skills training
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavioral therapy
• Family-centered participation one evening weekly
• Interpersonal effectiveness skills building
• Psychiatrist evaluation
• Medication management when needed
• Psychiatrist evaluation
• Structured group therapy with a licensed clinician three evenings weekly

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 4:00pm – 7:00pm

For information about our Behavioral Health services, call (904) 639-8654.

It's important to remember that a mental health emergency is a medical emergency. If you believe someone is a danger to themselves or to other people, seek emergency care or call 911.

For immediate emotional support, you can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or (800) 273-TALK.

Identifying symptoms of depression

Life can be difficult when you’re dealing with relationship problems, work stress, family life and other challenges. It's common to have overwhelming feelings of anxiety and stress. Sometimes, however, these feelings don’t go away. When this happens, and you suffer a prolonged state of hopelessness, it is known as "depression."

Our psychiatrists and behavioral health specialists are here to provide the treatment you need to manage symptoms of depression and to overcome it. Although this is not always an emergency situation, we hope you'll reach out before it becomes one.

We encourage you to contact us if you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms such as:

• Disinterest in hobbies or activities
• Feelings of worthlessness or being stuck
• Lethargy (general lack of energy and inactivity)
• Overeating or undereating
• Overwhelming anxiety
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Members of the Greater Orange Park and Jacksonville communities have access to aftercare resources so they can continue to receive support as they cope with mental illness. We offer our hospital-sponsored Aftercare Support Group and a family support group sponsored by The National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The Aftercare Support Group is free to attend and allows our patients to discuss their mental health symptoms and experiences with other people dealing with mental illness. The group meets every Wednesday evening from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.

To learn more about this support group, you can call us at (904) 639-8654.

Sponsored by The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) | Jacksonville Florida, the behavioral health family support group provides an environment for our patients and their families to receive emotional support from others with similar experiences.

To learn more about attending this support group, please call (904) 724-7782.