Birmingham VAMC


Contact Details
Description

There are currently state and federally funded or sponsored drug and alcohol treatment centers in the state of Alabama

Questions & Answers

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What kinds of care do they offer?

  • Mental health treatment

    Includes interventions such as therapy or psychotropic medication that treat a person's mental health problem or condition, reduce symptoms, and improve behavioral functioning and outcomes.

  • Substance use treatment

    Refers to a broad range of activities or services, including identification of the problem (and engaging the individual in treatment); brief interventions; assessment of substance abuse and related problems including histories of various types of abuse; diagnosis of the problem(s); and treatment planning, including counseling, medical services, psychiatric services, psychological services, social services and follow-up for persons with alcohol or other drug problems (Institute of Medicine, 1990).

  • Treatment for co-occurring substance use plus either serious mental health illness in adults/serious emotional disturbance in children

    Housing for individuals recovering from substance abuse that is designed to provide a drug and alcohol-free living environment and appropriate support services to facilitate movement to independent living. Such housing includes transitional living, sober houses, sober living, recovery houses, and 3/4 houses.


What types of treatment approaches do they offer?

  • Individual psychotherapy

    Focuses on a patient's current life and relationships within the family, social, and work environments through one-on-one conversations with a therapist. The goal is to identify and resolve problems with insight, as well as build on strengths.

  • Group therapy

    Involves groups of usually 4 to 12 people who have similar problems and who meet regularly with a therapist. The therapist uses the emotional interactions of the group's members to (1) help them get relief from distress and (2) possibly modify their behavior.

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy

    Involves recognizing unhelpful patterns of thinking and reacting, and then modifying or replacing these with more realistic or helpful ones. The therapy can be conducted with individuals, families, or groups, and clients are generally expected to be active participants in their own therapy.

  • Telemedicine/telehealth therapy

    The ability for healthcare providers, working from a distance using telecommunications technology, to communicate with patients, diagnose conditions, provide treatment, and discuss healthcare issues with other providers to ensure quality healthcare services are provided. Other names used for this treatment approach are: e-medicine, e-therapy, e-psychiatry, and telepsychiatry.


  • Smoking not permitted

    Smoking is not allowed.


What type of setting is this location?

  • Outpatient

    Describes patients who receive treatment services without an overnight stay at a treatment facility or hospital.


Who is responsible for the operation of this facility?

  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

    Facility operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including general hospitals, and/or residential treatment programs, and/or?psychiatric out?patient clinics.

  • Federal Government


What types of payment or funding do they accept?

  • Medicare

    The federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older and people with disabilities.

  • Private health insurance

  • Federal military insurance (e.g., TRICARE)

  • U.S. Department of VA funds


Do they offer any emergency mental health services?

  • Crisis intervention team

    A self-initiated community partnership between local law enforcement, county health services, mental health advocates, and mental health consumers. It is designed to address the needs of mental health consumers who enter the judicial system during a crisis state.

  • Psychiatric emergency walk-in services

    Designed to provide accessible, professional, cost-effective services to individuals in psychiatric crisis, and strive to stabilize consumers on site and avoid psychiatric hospitalization whenever possible.

  • Psychiatric emergency mobile/off-site services

    A self-initiated community partnership between local law enforcement, county health services, mental health advocates, and mental health consumers. It is designed to address the needs of mental health consumers who enter the judicial system during a crisis state.


What language services are offered?

  • Sign language services for the deaf and hard of hearing

    Service provided for persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.


What specific groups are treated here?

  • Veterans

    Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for Veterans.


What ancillary services are offered at this facility?

  • Intensive case management

    An intensive service that is a key part of the continuum of mental health care and supports for persons with serious mental illness. ICM is more than a brokerage function. It involves building a caring, trusting relationship with the consumer, promoting consumer independence through the coordination of appropriate services, and providing on-going, long-term support as needed by the consumer to function in the least restrictive, most natural environment and achieve an improved quality of life. ICM evolved from assertive community treatment (ACT) and case management (CM). ICM emphasizes frequent contact, small caseloads (<20 cases) and high intensity of care designed to improve planning for and responsiveness to the consumer's multiple service needs. The case manager coordinates required services from across the mental health system as well as other service systems (e.g., criminal justice, social services) as the consumer's service needs change. Intensive case managers fulfill a vital function for consumers by working with them to realize personal recovery goals and providing the support and resources that the consumer needs to achieve goals, stabilize his/her life and improve his/her quality of life.

  • Family psychoeducation

    Helps consumers and their families and supporters, through relationship building, education, collaboration, and problem solving to: 1) learn about mental illness; 2) master new ways of managing their mental illness; 3) reduce tension and stress within the family; 4) provide social support and encouragement to each other; 5) focus on the future; and 6) find ways for families and supporters to help consumers in their recovery.

  • Integrated primary care services

    Address the general health care needs of persons with mental health and substance use problems. These general health care needs include the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease) that can be aggravated by poor health habits such as inadequate physical activity, poor nutrition, and smoking. The services include screening, coordinating care among behavioral health care staff and medical staff; and providing linkages to ensure that all patient needs are met in order to promote wellness and produce the best outcomes.

  • Suicide prevention services

    Include identifying risk factors; educating staff on identifying the signs of suicidal behavior and using methods to detect risk; and the assessment, intervention, and management of suicidal patients including treatment of an underlying mental or substance use disorder, and use of psychotropic medication, supportive services, and education. Hotlines help individuals to contact the nearest suicide prevention mental health provider.


What types of recovery support services are offered here?

  • Mentoring/peer support



What specific pharmacotherapy treatments do they provide?

  • Nicotine replacement

    Administers nicotine to the body by means other than tobacco, without other harmful chemicals found in tobacco. Common forms of nicotine replacement therapy are nicotine patches, nicotine gum or lozenges, nasal spray and inhaler. The goal of nicotine replacement is to prevent cravings in a tobacco user, allowing the person to abstain from tobacco.

  • Non-nicotine smoking/tobacco cessation

    Are medications that do not contain nicotine but act on the brain to reduce a person's craving for tobacco. Some common medications are Bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin), and Nortriptyline (Pamelor). Medications are often prescribed in conjunction with behavioral counseling or support groups to provide the best chance for achieving long-term smoking abstinence. (http://www.mayoclinic.com)

  • Fluphenazine

    Fluphenazine is a decades-old antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and hostility.

  • Haloperidol

    Haloperidol is used to treat psychotic disorders and is also used to control motor tics and verbal tics in adults and children who have Tourette's disorder. Haloperidol is also used to treat severe behavioral problems such as explosive, aggressive behavior or hyperactivity in children who cannot be treated with psychotherapy or with other medications. Haloperidol is in a group of medications called conventional antipsychotics. It works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain.

  • Perphenazine

  • Thiothixene

  • Aripiprazole

  • Cariprazine

  • Lurasidone

  • Olanzapine

  • Paliperidone

  • Quetiapine

  • Risperidone

  • Ziprasidone

  • Antipsychotics used in treatment of SMI

    A multi-disciplinary clinical team approach, helps those with serious mental illness live in the community by providing 24-hour intensive community services in the individual's natural setting.


What types of screening and assessment methods are used here?

  • Screening for tobacco use

    Determines a client's use of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, or smokeless tobacco. It is generally recommended that providers screen for tobacco use on a regular basis by asking clients, as they are seen, about their current and past use of tobacco products and their exposure to secondhand smoke or tobacco.


What kinds of education and counseling services are offered here?

  • Smoking/vaping/tobacco cessation counseling

    Includes interventions for persons who use tobacco and want help with stopping, including behavioral support or counseling in groups or individually.


What age groups are accepted here?

  • Young Adults

    Facility accepts young adults (13-25) for treatment.

  • Adults

    Facility accepts adults (26-64) for treatment.

  • Seniors

    Facility accepts seniors (65 or older) for treatment.


What types of testing do they offer?

  • HIV testing

    Determines whether you are infected with HIV, a virus that weakens the immune system and can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

  • STD testing

    Testing to determine the type of sexually transmitted disease a person may be carrying.

  • TB screening

    Skin tests that are used to screen people who are at high risk for TB exposure such as people with diseases or conditions that weaken their immune system.

  • Metabolic syndrome monitoring

  • Testing for Hepatitis B (HBV)

    Involves blood test that measure HBV (Hepatitis B virus) antigens and antibodies.

  • Testing for Hepatitis C (HCV)

    Test for Hepatitis C, which is usually done and recommended for persons currently injecting drugs, ever injected drugs, were prior recipients of transfusions or organ transplants, or have certain medical conditions, including persons: 1. who received clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987 2. who were ever on long-term hemodialysis 3. with persistently abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels (ALT) 4. who have HIV infection


What type of facility is this?

  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center or other VA healthcare facility


Is vaping allowed at this facility?

  • Vaping not permitted


How do I apply for admission at this location?


Have you been to this facility? What was your experience?


Is there a wait-list for treatment center?


Is any payment required?


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