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).

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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.

• Couples/family therapy

  Are two similar approaches that use discussions and problem-solving sessions facilitated by a therapist to help couples and family members improve their understanding of and the way they respond to one another. This type of therapy can resolve patterns of behavior that might lead to more severe mental illness. Family therapy can help educate about the nature of mental disorders and teach skills to better cope with the effects of having a family member with a mental illness, such as how to deal with feelings of anger or guilt.

• 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.

• Dialectical behavior therapy

  A cognitive behavioral treatment approach with two key characteristics: a behavioral, problem-solving focus blended with acceptance-based strategies, and an emphasis on dialectical processes. "Dialectical" refers to the issues involved in treating patients with multiple disorders and to the type of thought processes and behavioral styles used in the treatment strategies. DBT has five components: (1) capability enhancement (skills training); (2) motivational enhancement (individual behavioral treatment plans); (3) generalization (access to therapist outside clinical setting, homework, and inclusion of family in treatment); (4) structuring of the environment (programmatic emphasis on reinforcement of adaptive behaviors); and (5) capability and motivational enhancement of therapists (therapist team consultation group). DBT emphasizes balancing behavioral change, problem-solving, and emotional regulation with validation, mindfulness, and acceptance.

• Integrated Mental and Substance Use Disorder treatment

  Provides combined treatment for mental illness and substance abuse from the same clinician or treatment team. Effective integrated treatment programs view recovery as a long-term, community-based process. The approach employs counseling designed especially for those with co-occurring disorders.

• Activity therapy

  Includes art, dance, music, recreational and occupational therapies, and psychodrama.

• Electroconvulsive therapy

  Also known as ECT, uses low-voltage electrical stimulation of the brain to treat some forms of major depression, acute mania, and some forms of schizophrenia. This potentially life-saving technique is considered only when other therapies have failed, when a person is seriously medically ill and/or unable to take medication, or when a person is very likely to commit suicide. Substantial improvements in the equipment, dosing guidelines, and anesthesia have significantly reduced the side effects.

• 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.

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• Smoking not permitted

  Smoking is not allowed.

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What type of setting is this location?

• Outpatient

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

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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

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What types of payment or funding do they accept?

• Medicaid

  A joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with low incomes and limited resources. Medicaid programs vary from state to state.

• 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)

• County or local government funds

• Community Service Block Grants

  Provides funds to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in communities.

• Community Mental Health Block Grants

  Through individual block grant contracts with community mental health services programs, these resources are focused on development and maintenance of community based services.

• U.S. Department of VA funds

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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.

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What specific groups are treated here?

• Clients with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders.

• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ)

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for LGBT clients.

• Veterans

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for Veterans.

• Active duty military

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for active duty military persons.

• Seniors or older adults

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for Seniors or older adults.

• Clients with HIV or AIDS

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with HIV or AIDS.

• Clients who have experienced trauma

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons who have experienced trauma.

• Persons 18 and older with serious mental illness (SMI)

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with serious mental illness.

• Persons with Alzheimer's or dementia

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with Alzheimer's or dementia.

• Persons with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI)

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for persons with traumatic brain injury.

• Young adults

  Facility has a program or group specifically tailored for Transitional age young adults.

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What ancillary services are offered at this facility?

• Assertive community treatment

  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.

• 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.

• Supported housing

  Independent, normal housing with flexible, individualized supportive services that allow individuals to maintain as much independence as possible.

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What types of recovery support services are offered here?

• Mentoring/peer support

• Housing services

  Are designed to assist individuals with finding and maintaining appropriate housing arrangements.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What type of facility is this?

• Veterans Affairs Medical Center or other VA healthcare facility

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Is vaping allowed at this facility?

• Vaping not permitted

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How do I apply for admission at this location?

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

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Is there a wait-list for treatment center?

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Is any payment required?

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