Behavioral health provides to mental healthcare for substance use disorders, addiction treatment, life stressors and crises, and stress-related physical symptoms. Behavioral health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of those conditions. As opposed to mental health, behavioral health considers how mental health leads to certain behaviors, but more generally, behavioral health focuses on how action affects physical and psychological well-being.
Behavioral Health at Hoskins Medical Center
Addiction & Substance Abuse Recovery at Hoskins Medical Center
Addiction and Substance Abuse Recovery is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs (cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines). The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused. Treatment includes medication for depression or other disorders, counseling by experts and sharing of experience with other addicts.
What does recovery mean? “Recovery is a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential. Even people with severe and chronic substance use disorders can, with help, overcome their illness and regain health and social function. This is called remission. Being in recovery is when those positive changes and values become part of a voluntarily adopted lifestyle. While many people in recovery believe that abstinence from all substance use is a cardinal feature of a recovery lifestyle, others report that handling negative feelings without using substances and living a contributive life are more important parts of their recovery.” – NIH, National Institute of Drug Abuse
Our Behavioral Health & Substance Abuse Procedures
Psychotherapy or counseling
This also is called talk therapy. It is one of the most common treatments for mental health disorders. It involves talking about your problems with a mental health professional and there is an educational element with a focus on relaxation exercises and coping skills as well as stress management.
Prescription medicine
Medicines for mental disorders make changes to brain chemicals that are involved in emotions and thought patterns. Medicines don’t cure psychiatric conditions or health problems. But they can improve your symptoms.
Support Groups
Self-help and support groups can help you gain insight into your condition. They can provide friendships, support, resources, and tips on how to live with your condition. They also help address the feelings of isolation that often go along with mental health conditions.
Referral for Hospital or Residential Trreatment program
If the patient is at risk at becoming a danger to themselves or others, or the mental health issues or substance dependency requires detoxification, long-term care and monitored care, a referral can be made to a hospital or long-term program.
Alternative Treatments
There are many types of therapies people use to help treat mental health problems. These can include physical activity, such as exercise or yoga. They can also include creative therapies. These are therapies done using means of expressing yourself creatively. They can include using art, music, movement, or writing.