The Best Mental Health Facilities in Southern California
Choosing between mental health facilities is a huge decision. When you decide to get inpatient or intensive mental health treatment, it can change the entire course of your life. Of course, in the past, if you’ve gotten treatment at centers not using evidence-based care or practices, you may have found that it’s ineffective. You might not have felt working with a particular mental health professional or mental health counselor was practical for you either, which could relate to their treatment method. At the Mental Health Center of San Diego, we do things differently than other mental health services providers in Southern California and throughout the country. First, we create treatment tracks depending on your specific mental health issues. For example, you might have a substance use disorder and depression. Rather than treating the depression as secondary or lumping it in broadly with other mental health conditions, we treat the depression independently. We find that our approach leads to better long-term outcomes compared to other inpatient mental health facilities.
A Different Approach to Dual Diagnosis At the Mental Health Center of San Diego, we worked for years with patients having a dual diagnosis. When you have a dual diagnosis, that means you have a substance use disorder, along with at least one other mental health disorder. Throughout our experience, we’ve found primary mental health facilities aren’t correctly treating patients.
In a traditional model, for a patient to receive treatment, the primary disorder is substance abuse. Then, the co-occurring mental health disorder, such as anxiety, major depressive disorder, or ADHD, receives secondary support services. The idea here is that you want to avoid the mental or behavioral health disorder preventing progress in treating the substance use disorder. Unfortunately, when following this model, providers started to see that the mental health diagnosis became the primary care issue. As a result, progress in treating the substance use disorder would be negatively affected. From there, patients might transfer to inpatient mental health facilities. Treatment once at these mental health facilities would occur in a group setting. In these settings, every patient has a different diagnosis. You might have some patients with schizophrenia, others with bipolar, and then some with anxiety or depression. These are very different mental health disorders, and treating them the same or simultaneously is not the best approach. Patients might not feel comfortable talking about their symptoms in a group of people with different diagnoses from their own, for example. Plus, how can a mental health therapist treat patients with such different needs? Consider what we would think if physical health conditions, such as cancer, were treated the same as heart disease. That would be ineffective and dangerous, but that’s exactly how so many primary mental health treatment facilities treat psychiatric disorders. After trying to convince primary inpatient mental health facilities to have separate treatment tracks, we decided the better option would be to have our treatment center.
Treatment Tracks The Mental Health Center of San Diego program offers treatment tracks with therapy and medication management including: ADD and ADHD When you have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, you may find that you have trouble with attention and focus. You may also have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity. Often, you first see the symptoms of ADHD early in childhood. Along with the impact of the mental health disorder on your daily life, there may be secondary complications affecting your mental health. For example, you may have low self-esteem or problems forming relationships. There’s also a link between ADHD and substance use disorders. You may rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms, including substances, to deal with the effects of ADHD on your life. Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder is one of the most commonly treated disorders in inpatient mental health facilities. We approach bipolar disorder on its treatment track.
Bipolar disorder can include mood swings and episodes of manic highs with extreme depressive lows. Treatment can be highly effective and help you maintain an excellent quality of life, but it needs to meet your individual needs. It can also take time to find the right treatment approach because everyone is different, and we take the time to make sure we can do that. There are times when your bipolar treatment plan may need to adjust as your needs evolve also. Depression A significant portion of people with substance use disorders also deals with depression. Depression can be debilitating, affecting school or work, physical health, and relationships. Untreated depression puts you at risk of suicidal ideation. Our treatment approaches for depression include combinations of different therapy modalities and mediation. Anxiety Anxiety isn’t something you just have to deal with. Anxiety is treatable, but without treatment, it’s very likely to get worse over time. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder OCD involves fears and obsessions leading to compulsive behaviors. You may engage in these behaviors as you try and soothe yourself or calm your obsessions. For many people, symptoms of OCD may start pretty early in life and become more severe and noticeable as they get older. Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder Schizophrenia is one of the primary reasons you might require treatment in inpatient mental health facilities. As a mood disorder, symptoms of schizophrenia can be severe and include depression, mania, and hallucinations. Our treatment team can work to find the combination of medication and therapy that works for your psychiatric mental illness. Some of the types of therapy often used for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder include cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, group therapy, individual therapy, family members therapy, and art or music therapy. Trauma Trauma doesn’t have to be a single, defining event for it to affect your mental and even physical health. Trauma can be the culmination of events throughout your life. The events can affect you mentally or emotionally as well as physically. Symptoms of trauma when it’s untreated include anxiety, numbness, and dissociation. Post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t the same as trauma. PTSD is a diagnosable complication of untreated trauma.
Comparing the Best Mental Health Facilities in California If you’re in the process of comparing mental health facilities or psychiatric hospitals for yourself or your loved one, keep the following in mind:
When possible, choosing inpatient mental health facilities can be beneficial. Residential treatment is more intensive, comprehensive, and individualized. Residential programs reduce distractions and create a calm, safe, and focused environment. You can concentrate exclusively on your mental health counseling and psychiatric care, surrounded by licensed professionals. Evidence-based treatment is essential. Look for a program that uses therapies and treatment strategies based on research and science. For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy is often a foundational part of a treatment plan, and it’s well-backed by research as far as effectiveness. Individualized treatment programs are necessary. No one approach to mental health care works for every person to overcome mental health challenges. A personalized treatment plan addresses who you are in every way and not just your mental health disorder.
If you’d like to learn more about choosing the best mental health facility in Southern California, we encourage you to get in touch with the compassionate, professional team at the Mental Health Center of San Diego by calling 858-465-7722 today. We offer a wide variety of medical services and extensive clinical experience.