Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services
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Learn MoreComprehensive, Compassionate Care for Complex Psychiatric Disorders
Houston Methodist offers high quality inpatient and outpatient programs and services to confront the complex and diverse mental health needs of our patients locally, nationally and from across the globe.
Inpatient treatment is for patients suffering from an acute mental health crisis. Hospitalization can help stabilize a variety of conditions, especially for individuals who need constant monitoring or may be in danger of harming themselves or others.
Our expert team goes beyond symptom reduction by robustly addressing the intersection of physical illness/pain and mental health, treatment-resistant depression and mood disorders, anxiety and phobias, dissociative and personality disorders, substance abuse, suicidality and many other psychiatric conditions.
We are also the only local facility attached to a nationally recognized hospital, enabling a variety of specialists to assess and treat a patient’s potential underlying medical causes of psychiatric symptoms, and vice-versa.
Why Choose Houston Methodist Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services
As part of our dedication to healing the body and mind, we focus on helping patients thrive through a holistic and collaborative approach to complex psychiatric problems. By integrating a team-based structure, clinical expertise and medical innovation, Houston Methodist’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services provides the comprehensive care patients need to achieve better health and attain their best possible quality of life. We offer:
- Expert care based on patients’ individual needs — from the most common to the most complex psychiatric disorders, including round-the-clock patient support
- A collaborative team of specialists at the top of their field committed to treating the whole person by addressing mental illness as well as any underlying medical conditions
- Both inpatient and outpatient treatment centers that provide a safe, confidential and caring environment and support the wellbeing of patients as they work toward recovery
- Access to clinical trials and research advances, offering patients promising new treatments from enhanced therapies to the latest in pharmacologic treatments and medication management
- Unique programs and services that address complex mental, behavioral and medical conditions to help patients function in everyday life
A Team of Experts
Houston Methodist Psychiatry and Behavioral Health experts include senior-level psychologists and psychiatrists, art therapists, music therapists, licensed professional counselors, social workers and research scientists, as well as experts in addiction, neurology, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicidal behavior and self-injury, chronic pain and illness, trauma-related disorders and interpersonal problems.
We aim to reinforce and enhance our patients’ resilience and sense of meaning. We are dedicated to the promotion of wellness, thriving, connection and purpose — not merely symptom reduction.
Who Benefits from Our Services
Our holistic mental health diagnostic and treatment services are designed for adults experiencing complex psychiatric conditions. Our goal is to forge strong relationships with our patients through customized, comprehensive intervention. Through these relationships, a deep understanding of each patient can emerge, providing our clinicians with informed, fresh and compassionate perspectives required to achieve meaningful and lasting change. Typically, our patients are:
- Individuals who have received an unclear psychiatric diagnosis or have been misdiagnosed
- Individuals who have undergone unsuccessful psychiatric treatment
- Individuals who have comorbid medical conditions
Conditions we treat include:
- Bipolar/mood disorders
- Schizophrenia/psychosis
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
- Treatment-resistant depression
- Anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services and Programs
Houston Methodist provides unparalleled outpatient and inpatient services tailored to patients’ specific mental health care needs.
Outpatient Services
Through outpatient and virtual intervention, we partner with patients and families to promote healthy lifestyle changes in a nonrestrictive environment — creating a balance of structure and independence crucial for successful treatment.
We offer the following specialty outpatient and virtual services:
Therapeutic Outpatient Assessment
Duration: 5- to 10-day program (dependent on patient needs)
Cost: $15,000+
Our Therapeutic Outpatient Assessment (in person and/or virtual) is a thorough, multidisciplinary assessment designed to produce maximal diagnostic clarity, optimize insight and stimulate change processes — as well as create a roadmap for future interventions.
Our Therapeutic Outpatient Assessment services are tailored to individuals who are seeking an accurate understanding, diagnosis and treatment plan for complex and/or persistent psychiatric conditions — and in some cases, with a comorbid medical condition. We provide services to patients struggling with a broad range of conditions, including depression, anxiety-related disorders, trauma, psychosis, interpersonal dysfunction, chronic pain, sleep disorders, emotional regulation problems and suicidality.
Our team-based, multidisciplinary assessment is designed to optimize insight, produce maximal diagnostic clarity and create a roadmap for future treatment. In-depth dialogue with our patients is at the heart of our assessment process, tailored to the individual needs of each patient. Our assessment process includes:
- Psychiatric evaluation
- Addictions evaluation
- Suicide risk assessment
- Genetic testing
- Neuropsychological testing
- MRI and other imaging tests
- Psychological testing
- Psychosocial evaluation
- Family system evaluation
- Pain assessment, as indicated
- Sleep studies, as indicated
- Additional tests, as indicated
- Routine laboratory tests and specialized tests, as indicated
- Urine toxicology screens
- Specialty consultation, as indicated
- Coordination of all testing and consultation
- Discharge planning and referral for ongoing care in home community or at other treatment centers around the country
To compile a comprehensive summary and recommendations for treatment, our team conducts a thorough review of:
- Records of referring and previous clinicians
- Medical and treatment history
- Input from past providers, family and loved ones
After a thorough review of the assessments and test results, as well as reports from family and referring clinicians, our team meets with the patient and family to share our findings and recommendations. This process results in:
- Better understanding of diagnoses and the factors that contribute to complex or recurring problems
- Establishing common goals for ongoing and future treatment
- Personalized referrals for ongoing care or treatment, helping to select the best options for the patient across the full continuum of care — either in his or her home community or elsewhere in the country
The core interdisciplinary team conducting these assessments consists of senior-level psychologists and psychiatrists. Consultants with specific areas of expertise are added as needed. Therapeutic Outpatient Assessments vary in duration depending on need, but typically last five to 10 days, at the conclusion of which the patient, family, and the team of providers meet as a group to review findings and to discuss next steps. Patients are provided with a comprehensive report. Next level of care providers will also receive a written summary and/or verbal handoff (with the patient’s permission).
Partial Hospitalization Program
Duration: 5 to 8 weeks, Monday-Friday, 4-5 hours per day
Cost: $40,000+
Our five- to eight-week Partial Hospitalization Program is designed to help individuals who struggle to engage in a meaningful and productive life and are increasingly constrained due to psychiatric or emotional problems. This includes individuals who have not responded to treatment efforts and/or live with a treatment-resistant mood disorder, such as treatment-resistant depression. For some of our patients, these psychiatric problems arise in response to or in conjunction with significant health or medical problems.
Our approach to treating patients incorporates an understanding of the broader context in which difficulties arise, rather than seeing the individual or his or her illness or symptoms in isolation.
We aim to reduce symptoms where possible, while striving to maximize each patient’s ability to live with purpose and vitality. The program is available on an outpatient and virtual basis, allowing patients the opportunity to complete treatment while remaining engaged with their lives.
Patients may continue their treatment on an individual basis following the completion of the Partial Hospitalization Program. We offer services to meet the varied and dynamic needs of our clients, including medication management, individual psychotherapy, psychological testing, and neuropsychological evaluation.
Treatment takes place daily, Monday through Friday. Programming begins at 10 a.m. and ends around 3 p.m. Each morning, patients participate in two group therapy sessions. Each afternoon patients participate in two individual therapy. Patients can expect 10 group sessions and 10 individual sessions every week. While group programming tends to be a bit more structured, individual therapy sessions are tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
Treatment modalities include:
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
- Art therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Compassion-focused therapy (CFT)
- Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
- Emotion-focused therapy (EFT)
- Family systems therapy (FST)
- Mentalization-based therapy (MBT)
- Mindfulness-based yoga (MBY)
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
- Music therapy
- Nutrition and dietary recommendations
- Process group-based therapy (PGT)
As part of the Partial Hospitalization Program, our expert psychiatrists may offer interventional neuropsychiatric services to complement group and individual sessions. We can provide the following interventional neuropsychiatric services:
- Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) – an effective option that can reverse symptoms of severe depression relatively quickly, but has temporary side effects, including confusion and memory loss
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) – a noninvasive intervention that uses magnetic fields to ease symptoms of depression and improve mood
For more information on our outpatient services, please call 346.238.2040 or visit: Houston Methodist Behavioral Health
Inpatient Services
For patients who are in crisis or at high risk of harming themselves or others, Houston Methodist offers evaluation for suitability for appropriate inpatient care through our emergency departments located across the city. Houston Methodist provides exceptional inpatient care for the treatment of acute psychiatric conditions. Our medical team offers a full spectrum of inpatient psychiatry and behavioral health services and a multidisciplinary approach within a caring hospital setting. Services provided with inpatient mental health treatment include:
- Round-the-clock patient support
- General education on mental health conditions
- Group therapy
- Medication therapy
- Referral to appropriate outpatient psychiatric care after discharge
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 confidential support to anyone experiencing a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis. By calling or texting 988, you’ll connect with a network of trained crisis counselors from across the nation who help thousands of people overcome crisis situations every day.