May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for Phoebe, it is both a moment of reflection and a milestone worth celebrating. This year, Phoebe’s Behavioral Health services is undergoing one of its most significant expansions in recent memory, growing its emergency care footprint, embedding therapists and nurse practitioners into primary care offices and urgent care centers across the region, launching an innovative service for patients with treatment-resistant depression, and deepening its outpatient and inpatient services.

The goal, according to Ellen Williams, PhD, Vice President for Behavioral Health, is straightforward: to make mental health care accessible, evidence-based, and part of everyday community life.

“Mental health issues are not uncommon. They affect about 20 percent of the population. The sooner you get treatment for a mental health symptom, just like any other medical condition, the better your prognosis is going to be, and we have services available to help,” said Williams.

Phoebe’s Behavioral Health services are organized across three distinct divisions: emergency behavioral health, inpatient psychiatric care, and a robust outpatient clinic, which is now expanding into the broader community in new and meaningful ways.

The outpatient department is a multidisciplinary clinic staffed by psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and therapists. The clinic provides psychiatric evaluation, medication management, individual and group therapy, and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – a structured level of care that’s designed for patients who need more support than traditional weekly outpatient appointments.

For patients considering whether to seek help, understanding the difference between outpatient and inpatient care can make the first step feel less daunting. Outpatient care, Dr. Williams explains, is much like visiting any other medical provider.

“If you’re seeing a psychiatrist or nurse practitioner, you’ll have an initial hour-long assessment and leave with treatment recommendations and possibly a prescription. Follow-up visits can be between 15-30 minutes long. If you’re seeing a mental health therapist, your initial assessment also lasts about an hour with follow-up visits lasting 45 minutes to an hour, during which in-depth conversations occur about what’s going on in your life, what your symptoms are, and how those things interact. With any mental health provider, you’ll develop treatment goals and work towards them with new skills and information to help you improve your life. It’s a special experience to have someone listen to you and care about what you’re going through,” said Williams.

Telehealth is a core part of Phoebe’s outpatient service. Patients can come to the clinic to connect remotely with a psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, or therapist, or they can do the same from the comfort of their own home. Phoebe is working toward expanding existing in-person services in Albany to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center and Phoebe Worth Urgent Care clinic. At Phoebe Worth, there will be a mental health therapist there one day a week to provide therapy starting in June. Services at Phoebe Sumter should begin later this year.

In addition to outpatient services, Phoebe operates an 11-bed inpatient behavioral health unit at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, divided into two areas. One is for patients experiencing acute crises such as active suicidal ideation or psychosis, and the other is for those managing major depressive or anxiety disorders who benefit from a structured therapeutic environment, group activities, and peer interaction. The unit is a locked facility, and patients may be admitted either voluntarily or, when clinically and legally necessary, on an involuntary basis.

“An inpatient stay typically lasts 3 to 5 days, but the length of stay varies depending on each patient’s individual situation. Patients are very involved in their care. There are team meetings three days a week with the psychiatrist, where they go over the plan of care together. Patients have a voice in that process,” said Williams.

The goal in all cases is stabilization, symptom reduction, and a clear transition plan for continued care after discharge.

One of the most visible recent additions to Phoebe’s behavioral health infrastructure is the expanded behavioral health area within the Emergency & Trauma Center. What was previously a four-bed unit has grown to six beds, built specifically for patients arriving in a mental health crisis. The space features patient-safe furnishings and equipment, a calm and private layout, and staff specifically trained to care for individuals in acute mental health distress, all intentionally separated from the high-intensity activity of the Level II Trauma Center.

“The emergency department can be highly stressful with trauma cases and medical emergencies. When you have psychiatric patients in that environment, the stimulation can exacerbate their symptoms. It’s better to have an area that’s quieter, calmer, where staff are trained in de-escalation skills and patients can start to decompress,” said Williams.

The unit functions as a critical bridge – a safe, appropriate space to begin stabilization and connect patients to the right next level of care, whether that is inpatient admission or outpatient follow-up.

Perhaps the most far-reaching development in Phoebe’s behavioral health expansion is its move into primary care offices and urgent care centers, a model built on the recognition that the path to mental health care should be easier to access. Therapists will begin seeing patients at certain primary care clinics this spring, a collaboration championed by Phoebe Medical Director of Primary Care Dr. Derek Heard, who has worked closely with the behavioral health team for over a year to bring the vision to life.

“Providing mental health services at primary care sites helps physicians do a ‘warm handoff,’ directly connecting their patient to someone familiar to the staff. And it helps patients because their primary care office is familiar. They’re in a place they already trust,” said Williams.

The expansion will include Phoebe Urgent Care of East Albany. Later this year, a Phoebe therapist will offer one to two days per week there providing an entirely new in-person behavioral health presence in east Albany.

Bringing therapists into primary care offices and urgent care centers removes one of the most persistent barriers to mental health treatment: the logistical and psychological distance between a person and the care they need.

“One of the things this helps address is the stigma around going to see a mental health provider. A lot of people still have the idea that you have to be very mentally ill before getting treatment. But if you have a mental health symptom, just like any medical symptom, the earlier you intervene, the better your outcome is going to be. Making care available where people already are reduces, the stigma,” said Williams.

Among the most significant clinical advances this year has been re-starting Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, which is a non-invasive, FDA-cleared therapy for patients with treatment-resistant depression. TMS uses magnetic pulses, similar in concept to the magnets in an MRI machine, though delivered very differently to stimulate specific areas of the brain associated with mood regulation.

The experience for patients is far less intimidating than the technology might suggest. A patient sits in a comfortable, reclining chair while a specialized cap is fitted over their head. Inside the cap are magnets, precisely calibrated to that individual’s anatomy, that deliver targeted magnetic stimulation to the brain. There is no anesthesia, no sedation, no recovery time, and no pain. The first session, which includes setup and calibration, lasts approximately one hour. Every subsequent session is just 20 minutes. The full course of treatment spans five weeks, with patients attending daily sessions.

“TMS is specifically for patients for whom regular medications are not effective. To be eligible, a patient must have failed at least two trials of antidepressants. People who have been through trial after trial of medications and haven’t found relief, that experience can be very frustrating. TMS offers something different, a proven, science-backed option when traditional treatment hasn’t worked,” said Williams.

Phoebe’s TMS program is led by Dr. Eric Ragazino, a psychiatrist who is optimistic about the therapy and its potential to reach patients who have long gone without adequate relief. As Mental Health Awareness Month unfolds, Dr. Williams’ message to the community is clear, urgent, and rooted in the same evidence-based philosophy that guides every service her team provides.

“Mental health issues are common. They don’t have to be something you hide or push through alone. I want people to know that we offer treatments that work, providers who care, and that the sooner you come to us, the better your chances of getting better. We want to be part of this community’s health in every way we can,” she said.

To learn more about available services or to schedule an appointment, call Phoebe Behavioral Health at 229-312-7001 or visitwww.phoebehealth.com/behavioralhealth.