Treatment

Our mission is to provide exemplary patient-centered and evidence-based treatment while promoting dignity and respect in a safe and healing environment.  We strive to make a difference in the lives of our patients and help them improve their functioning at work, in school, at home, and in their relationships with family and other important people in their lives.

Who We Treat

We have 4 broad missions of clinical service:

  • We provide inpatient psychiatric care for patients who receive outpatient services at our Depression Center/Ambulatory Psychiatry clinic and/or UMHS primary care clinics.
  • We are a general community psychiatric unit.
  • We along with other area hospitals, share responsibility for admitting patients who, in other parts of the country, might be cared for in a city or county hospital.
  • We are a tertiary/quaternary referral center. This means we admit patients from across Michigan and around the United States for treatment of severe and treatment-resistant mood disorders, psychosis, and catatonic syndromes.

U-M Adult Inpatient Psychiatry offers state-of-the-art treatment to patients ages 18 and over for a variety of psychiatric illnesses. We have specific specialized treatment tracks for the most common illnesses, including mood disorders (e.g. depression, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder), thought disorders (e.g. schizophrenia), and psychiatric disorders of older age.

Treatment always includes a full interdisciplinary assessment of a patient’s symptoms, strengths, weakness, and functional status.  Since we consider a patient’s whole situation – not only brain chemistry but psychological state, social functioning, interpersonal relationships, ability to live independently, self-care, and disease management – interventions involving nursing, occupational therapy, activities therapy, and social work are at least as important as those provided by the psychiatrists.  Therefore, a patient’s willingness and ability to participate in several types of therapeutic interactions is an important consideration when our staff assesses whether admission to the unit is appropriate.

Our unit does not have specific expertise in, or programming for, autistic spectrum disorders, severe anxiety disorders (such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), eating disorders, dissociative disorders, or severe dementia. Referrals to our unit for patients with these illnesses are considered on a case-by-case basis by the Medical Director and nursing management. For patients who cannot be admitted, our staff will advise them and/or their loved-ones regarding appropriate alternatives, calling on the expertise of UMHS colleagues as needed. This might involve referral to a different facility or to a different clinic/program within UMHS.

We are not licensed as a “Med-Psych” unit.  Although we are able to care for patients who have other illnesses (such as diabetes or high blood pressure) that are well managed, patients who need more intensive medical interventions or evaluations are evaluated case-by-case. Patients who require treatments or medical devices that we cannot safely manage on our unit cannot be admitted, but our staff can often assist with a referral to a more appropriate UMHS department or outside facility. Admission to our unit might be possible in cases where we are able to partner with UMHS colleagues to provide appropriate care.

U-M’s Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry program provides care to children 17 years and younger.

 

Treatments

Therapies are individualized for each patient’s unique needs. These may include a variety of evidence-based treatment services, including medication, group psychotherapy (“talk therapy”), individual crisis support and intervention, family involvement and education, consultation from outpatient experts, electroconvulsive therapy, and group activities.

Participation in therapeutic group activities is an important part of each patient’s treatment. The therapy staff assesses each patient individually at the beginning of the stay to determine the appropriate level and focus of treatment. Therapeutic groups are presented by activity therapists, nurses, social workers, and physicians. These activities use various approaches to improve self-care, including skill building, discussion groups, music therapy, physical exercise, and more.