Mental Health and Wellness

UT Health East Texas Behavioral Health provides short-term, inpatient stabilization services to help individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis, who meet certain mandated criteria or who may pose a risk for causing harm. A doctor’s order is required for admission and a set of legal protocols must be followed to protect the patient’s rights.

During inpatient stabilization, patients receive immediate psychiatric help with research-based therapies. The process of healing begins in an environment that is safe, confidential, therapeutic and sensitive to the needs of the individual.

Goals of the program

The immediate goal of our multidisciplinary team is to stabilize the patient, make an initial diagnosis and direct him or her toward an appropriate program of therapy and care. This may include psychotropic medications, therapeutic counseling or a customized course of treatment developed for the specific patient.

During inpatient stabilization the patient will see the psychiatrist once a day for medication management. Our ultimate goal is to steer the patient to outpatient treatment and to prepare for return to daily life with family and friends. Inpatient stabilization is meant to be a short-term solution.

Typically, the path of the inpatient follows this progression:

• Stabilize the crisis
• Assess and diagnose
• Detoxify, if necessary
• Manage medications
• Participate in individual or group therapy as appropriate
• Plan the next steps of treatment, recovery and returning home

The first step

Perhaps because of lingering stigmas about mental health, it often can be difficult for family members to realize that inpatient stabilization is usually not an end to a troubling situation, but more often the beginning of a lasting solution. Mental illness does not need to be disabling, immobilizing or even a permanent condition.

We ask you to call ahead for an appointment. Although walk-ins are welcome, appointments will be seen first. To reach our 24-hour hotline, please call 903-877-7168. Our Tyler location can be reached by calling 903-877-7000.

We offer counseling to individuals, couples and families. Some of our counselors provide testing for various mental health conditions, however they cannot prescribe medication. Counseling and therapy sessions last between 30 to 45 minutes, although testing can range from two to four hours. Cost may differ depending on the healthcare plan, insurance provider or therapist. Please be sure to check with your insurance carrier to obtain detailed information or call the clinic for additional assistance.

Adults who have significant difficulty handling their day-to-day lives because of issues such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, mood swings and grief are candidates for the UT Health East Texas Behavioral Health Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). We offer counseling by licensed therapists, medication management provided by board-certified psychiatrist or advanced nurse practitioner and the opportunity to work through emotional and psychological issues without the need for inpatient hospital admission.

The IOP allows patients the opportunity to live at home, continue to work and be involved in family and community activities, while receiving in-depth treatment. This enables patients to begin implementing the recovery skills they learn and gives them the chance to process their experiences in a safe and supportive group environment.

Our IOP also provides a specialized track for those that are struggling with addiction and substance abuse. We utilize evidence-based approaches to help build healthy coping skills to reduce harm and prevent relapse. Our board-certified practitioners are available to provide medication assisted treatment to help reduce cravings and relapse.

Our program can help participants achieve the following goals:

• Build structure and set limits in daily life and explore personal values and beliefs
• Curb destructive impulses and behaviors
• Develop more effective coping tools to deal with everyday challenges
• Manage anger, guilt and shame
• Practice interpersonal effectiveness and communication skills
• Receive information about medications and their proper use
• Reduce fears, anxiety disorders and depression
• Regulate emotions, tolerate distress and express thoughts and feelings
• Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations

Common mental health diagnoses

Common diagnoses addressed in our outpatient program include depression, anxiety, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder

Anyone who has experienced serious issues due to emotional problems, such as missing work, relationship problems, decreased productivity, isolating behavior, problems in social situations, poor self-care or cognitive impairment will benefit from the program. If you experience any of these issues, you may benefit from our program, which offers a number of services, including:

• Ambulatory detox
• Group counseling
• Individual counseling
• Medication assisted treatment (MAT)
• Medication consultation and evaluation
• Referrals for follow-up care

Intensive outpatient treatment philosophy

Research shows that individuals with severe symptoms of mood disorder recover to an effective level of functioning sooner in a group setting. Our groups are predominantly a combination of dialectical and cognitive behavioral therapies in which patients meet in an educational environment to develop more effective coping skills to manage major setbacks and the problems of everyday life. Our doctor leads the treatment team in an ongoing assessment of a patient’s situation and progress. He or she also manages any psychiatric medications if applicable.

How do I know if I need this level of treatment?

If you can answer “yes” to any one or more of the following questions, and if the issue or issues are causing significant problems in any area of your life – such as personal, work, social, interpersonal, financial or health – then the level of care offered by the outpatient day treatment program could be needed.

• Have you been late to work or absent from work due to feeling stressed, anxious or depressed?
• Has your productivity at work or home decreased because of emotional problems?
• Have you experienced strained interpersonal relationships due to increased irritability or anger?
• Are you isolating and avoiding social situations?
• Do you have difficulty dealing with crowds or other social situations, such as church or shopping?
• Do you find yourself in constant debt but yearn to be financially stable?
• Do you want to be independent but find yourself dependent on someone to an unhealthy degree?
• Do you have many projects and responsibilities but tend to procrastinate?

No physician order is required, although we accept recommendations from physicians, mental health providers, clergy, company employee assistance programs and family and friends. We offer free assessments (appointments required) to assist with self-referrals.

Treatment is available five days a week. We offer the flexibility of attending either our morning session or afternoon session. The provider routinely meets with patients for evaluation and monitoring of medications. This is a group therapy program and does not include a component for medication management only. This program is a step down from our inpatient stabilization program.

Our safe and specialized senior behavioral health inpatient unit provides crisis intervention and comprehensive diagnostic evaluation for individuals age 55 and older, who are experiencing emotional, cognitive or behavioral distress. An individualized care plan is developed to optimize treatment outcomes. A physician referral is required.

Neuropsychology is a specialized branch of psychology that involves the scientific study of brain-behavior relationships. Our neuropsychology services provide comprehensive evaluations for cognitive decline and impairment due to various conditions including:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Central Nervous System tumors
• Corticobasal Syndrome
• Epilepsy
• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Ischemic or Hemorrhagic stroke
• Lewy Body Dementia
• Mild Head injury and Concussion
• Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Neurodevelopmental disorders presenting in adulthood such as Intellectual Disability
• Other movement disorders such as Essential Tremor and Dystonia
• Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia
• Pre and post neuro-surgical evaluations for DBS, VNS, or resective procedures.
• Vascular dementia

Neuropsychological evaluations are conducted by clinical neuropsychologists and assist with identifying suspected neurological disorders, determine the extent and severity of known neurological conditions and provide recommendations necessary for treatment planning.

Neuropsychological tests are standardized, objective and performance-based instruments that are used to determine any changes in cognitive functions relative to established psychometric norms.

Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations include the assessment of cognitive and behavioral domains such as:

• Attention and concentration
• Daily/adaptive functioning skills
• Emotional functioning
• Executive functions such as reasoning or judgment
• Fine motor skills
• Memory and learning
• Processing speed
• Speech and language
• Visual perceptual skills

Additionally, caregivers and family members of the patients may provide information through measures developed to gather collateral information.

What to expect on the day of the neuropsychological evaluation:

Neuropsychological evaluation typically consists of an one-hour clinical interview with the patient and their caregivers/family, if available, followed by neuropsychological test administration (typically 2-5 hours). Efforts are made to complete the evaluation on the same day, although some patients may be required to return to complete testing if the test battery cannot be completed in one day.

Following the completion of testing, neuropsychological test data and information gathered from the clinical interview are integrated into a comprehensive report by the clinical neuropsychologist. After the completion of the report, evaluation results will be communicated with the patients during a separate feedback meeting.

The neuropsychology clinic is located at the Center for Healthy Aging located in the Riter Center at UT Health North Campus Tyler. Contact us to learn more about our neuropsychology services or schedule a neuropsychological evaluation 903-877-7911.