Behavioral Health
Behavioral health services are offered in partnership with our primary care providers onsite at our Atlantic, Eastville and Onley centers and through telehealth. Services are for established Rural Health patients only. Appointment availability and location vary depending on the service needed.
Services Offered
- Primary Care Behavioral Health: 20-30 minute sessions with a Behavioral Health Consultant (licensed psychotherapist) upon request by Rural Health providers. This service is offered at the center the provider is located as an extension of a primary care visit. Providers can request a visit on the same day as a medical/dental visit to work on changing behaviors to improve or prevent illness. Examples include coping with grief, managing panic symptoms, decreasing depressive symptoms, improving sleep habits, learning ADHD coping skills, and identifying barriers to physical health management (such as nutrition and remembering to take medication). We currently offer this service at the Onley center to all ages and hope to provide it at all centers in the future.
- Psychiatry Services for age 18+: First visits must be in person, telehealth may be offered after the first visit. Psychiatric care is mental health care focusing on diagnosing and treating mental illness. Patients looking for psychiatry services should receive therapy also, either with our Behavioral Health Consultant or through another organization. Adults are seen at all centers, there is limited availability for children at our Atlantic and Onley centers. Patients participating in behavioral health services outside of Rural Health should sign a Release of Information (ROI) for care coordination purposes.
- Behavioral Health Care Coordinator: Our coordinator works with patients to help them get needed services we don’t offer (see list below).
Services Not Offered
- After hours crisis services. See Other Resources section below.
- Residential (treatment community), inpatient (in a hospital setting), or short-term intensive mental health services.
- Partial-hospitalization programs or ‘step-down’ services for patients just released from in-patient care.
- Therapy for persons with eating disorders with a Body Mass Index less than 18.
- Any specialty behavioral health service for which we don’t currently have a trained Behavioral Health Consultant (for example, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD).
- Couples therapy, family therapy, or group therapy.
- Treatment to overcome fear of an object, situation or activity requiring home visits.
- Court-ordered therapies.
- Therapies for severe developmental disabilities or cognitive impairment (memory loss for example) unless the Behavioral Health Consultant has received special training.
- The following assessment/evaluation services:
- Parental fitness, custody, or divorce evaluations.
- ADHD evaluations for persons 18+.
- Intellectual disability or developmental disability evaluations.
- Functional evaluations to determine ability to make rational choices.
- Evaluations or testing solely for the purpose of gaining disability services.
- Capacity evaluations evaluating ability to perform certain functions.
- Court-ordered or forensic evaluations for legal purposes.
- Testing/evaluations not primarily intended to help us deliver needed care.
For emergencies CALL/TEXT 911 or GO TO AN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY! We do not offer holiday or after-hours Behavioral Health phone coverage.
Other Resources
- Nationwide Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – text and chat, to access text AYUDA to 988, or chat online.
- Eastern Shore Community Services Board 24-hour Crisis Services – call 757-442-7707 or 1-800-764-4460.
Don’t No Show!
- If you don’t come to an appointment; or don’t call to cancel or reschedule an appointment at least 24 hours before an appointment you are a no show.
- Patients missing three appointments in one year will get a letter to schedule a no-show counseling appointment before any more appointments can be made. Our Behavioral Health Care Coordinator will assist patients with situations preventing them from attending appointments (arranging rides, for example).