Behavioral Health Service Team

A Behavioral Health assessment is conducted by a member of our Behavioral Health Service Team.  During the initial evaluation, the Provider will look to establish the state of mental health for the patient.  The patient will answer questions about feelings, thoughts and behaviors.  These questions will often include questions about a patient’s symptoms in more detail, what makes them better or worse,  activities of daily life, and how the patient management their pain. The provider will also seek to observe appearance and behavior (Is the patient shy, irritable, or aggressive?  Does the patient engage when being talked to?  Do they make eye contact?).

In an effort to balance effective pain management and safety when prescribing opioids, an assessment is conducted with each patient who is prescribed an Opioid. This assessment is utilized to assess risk for opioid abuse among individuals prescribed opioids for treatment of chronic pain.

Fibromyalgia

Chronic Pain

Anxiety

… and several others.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common type of talk therapy (psychotherapy) with a standardized goal. A member of our Behavioral Health Service Team (psychotherapist or therapist) will work with a patient in a structured way through a limited number of sessions. CBT helps patients to become aware of inaccurate or negative patterns of thought which enables them to view challenging situations with more clarity and to respond to them in a more effective way.

Stress Management Training enables patients to learn strategies to cope with stressful situations and to understand triggers that will influence and perpetuate negative responses.  Patients will learn to recognize stress more readily and increase their capacity to cope with it when stress presents itself.  Patients will be equipped with techniques such as Breathing Therapy and Mindfulness to make managing their stress very practical.

Relaxation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation are techniques that are effectively utilized to manage stress, anxiety, insomnia and even to reduce the impact of chronic pain.  Our Behavioral Health Service Team will lead patients through a series of tension/relaxation sequences where the patient will tighten a muscle group and them progressively release it.

Biofeedback is a technique that allows patients to learn to control certain physiological functions (heart rate, respiration rate, etc.).  During therapy, a member of our Behavioral Health Service Team will connect a patient to electrical sensors that enable the patient to visualize the physiological information of their bodies in response to certain stimuli.  Biofeedback, thus, enables a patient to make subtle changes to their bodies to reduce pain, anxiety, etc.