Behavioral Health

Contact Us

Phone: 509-606-2764
Toll-Free: 888-258-8903
Toll-Free Fax: 888-722-4146
Fax: 509-258-4480

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday
7:30a – 4:00p

2023 Holiday Schedule

Have a Question?

Our Mission:

To provide comprehensive behavioral health services that improve and support the mental, emotional, spiritual health, and wellbeing of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and residents of the surrounding communities while honoring and integrating culture, language, and a trauma informed approach.

The Team at Behavioral Health Values the Meaning of Confidentiality

We understand the need for strict confidentiality in a small community. Our counselors and staff are trained to manage your confidential information in accordance with all State and Federal laws. We honor your privacy when we’re in the community, at home, and in our offices at Health and Human Services. We strive to create a safe environment where you have confidence that your health related information is secure.

Behavioral Health Services and Resources

Mental Health Services

Substance Abuse Services
- Detox Referral
- DUI Assessment and Referral
- Level 1.0 Outpatient Services
  - Individual Counseling
  - Group Counseling
- Medication Assisted Treatment
- Substance Abuse Assessment and Referral
- Prevention
  - Tobacco Cessation
  - Suicide Awareness
- Wellbriety

Resources and Important Documents

Assessment and Diagnosis

Our program provides comprehensive bio/psycho/social assessments and evaluations to diagnose and treat mental health disorders.

Any Mental Illness

Any mental illness (AMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder. AMI can vary in impact, ranging from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment (e.g., individuals with serious mental illness as defined below).

Serious Mental Illness

Serious mental illness (SMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. The burden of mental illnesses is particularly concentrated among those who experience disability due to SMI.

Mental health assessments are designed to:

diagnose mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, postnatal depression, eating disorders and psychotic illnesses
differentiate between mental and physical health problems
assess a person referred because of problems at school, work or home.

Things to consider before your assessment:

What kind of symptoms are you experiencing? (physical/emotional/both)
What are the thoughts, feelings or behaviors that have been troubling you?
Has a particular event, such as the death of a loved one, brought on these symptoms?
How often do you have the symptoms and what are you doing when you have them?
How long do the symptoms last?

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.

People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing “voices.” Or they may be more long-term, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiousness that never seem to lift or problems functioning, causing everyday life to feel distorted or out of control.

Psychiatrists use a variety of treatments – including various forms of talk therapy, medications, psychosocial interventions and other treatments (such as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT), depending on the needs of each patient.

Psychotherapy, sometimes called talk therapy, is a treatment that involves a talking relationship between a therapist and patient. It can be used to treat a broad variety of mental disorders and emotional difficulties. The goal of psychotherapy is to eliminate or control disabling or troubling symptoms so the patient can function better. Depending on the extent of the problem, treatment may take just a few sessions over a week or two or may take many sessions over a period of years. Psychotherapy can be done individually, as a couple, with a family, or in a group.

There are many forms of psychotherapy. There are psychotherapies that help patients change behaviors or thought patterns, psychotherapies that help patients explore the effect of past relationships and experiences on present behaviors, and psychotherapies that are tailored to help solve other problems in specific ways. Cognitive behavior therapy is a goal-oriented therapy focusing on problem solving. Psychoanalysis is an intensive form of individual psychotherapy which requires frequent sessions over several years.

Most medications are used by psychiatrists in much the same way that medications are used to treat high blood pressure or diabetes. After completing thorough evaluations, psychiatrists can prescribe medications to help treat mental disorders. While the precise mechanism of action of psychiatric medications is not fully understood, they may change chemical signaling and communication within the brain, which may reduce some symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Patients on long-term medication treatment will need to meet with their psychiatrist periodically to monitor the effectiveness of the medication and any potential side effects.

Class of Medications

Antidepressants – used to treat depression, panic disorder, PTSD, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder and eating disorders.
Antipsychotic medications – used to treat psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.
Sedatives and anxiolytics – used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
Hypnotics – used to induce and maintain sleep.
Mood stabilizers – used to treat bipolar disorder.
Stimulants – used to treat ADHD.

Psychiatrists often prescribe medications in combination with psychotherapy.

Interventional psychiatry describes procedures used when medications and psychotherapy are ineffective in restoring a patient to full health. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a medical treatment that involves applying electrical currents to the brain, is used most often to treat severe depression that has not responded to other treatments. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and ketamine treatment are a few of the newer therapies being used to treat some mental health disorders. Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin are being studied for future treatment potential.₂

Psychological Evaluation and Testing

What to Expect?

Psychological testing isn’t like taking a multiple-choice exam that you either pass or fail. Often the psychologist is working to collect information that gives them the clearest picture of an individual’s personal experiences to determine the best course of treatment for that individual. Psychologists use information from the various tests and assessments to reach a specific diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.

Some people are tempted to peek at the tests ahead of time. If they suspect they may have a particular problem, they may look online for a practice test of that problem. That’s a bad idea, experts say. In fact, practicing ahead of time usually backfires—when you try to take the test in a certain way, the answers may be inconsistent and make you appear to have more problems than you actually do.

Remember, psychological testing and assessment is nothing to fear. It’s not something you need to study for. Rather, it’s an opportunity for psychologists to determine the best way to help you.₃

Rehabilitative Case Management

Rehabilitative case management for mental health are targeted to meet the ongoing assessment, facilitation, care coordination and advocacy for programs and services to meet an individual’s needs to communicate available resources, promote quality of life, and effective outcomes during and following a hospitalization.

Our Rehabilitative case management services support individual employment, education, and participation in other daily activities appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, and culture, and assist individuals in resolving crises in the least restrictive setting.

Our Rehabilitative case management services include specific rehabilitative services that assist and support an individual’s discharge from an inpatient facility while working to minimize the risk of readmission to an inpatient setting.

Brief Intervention Treatment

Brief intervention treatment services are solution-focused and outcome-oriented cognitive and behavioral interventions, intended to resolve situational disturbances. These services do not require long term treatment, and do not include ongoing care, maintenance, or monitoring of the individual’s current level of function or assistance with self-care or life skills training.

Crisis Outreach

Each of our counseling staff is trained in crisis response and managing situations with community members who may be suicidal or having thoughts of suicide. When necessary our program works with North East Washington Alliance Counseling Services (NEWACS), for crisis services after-hours, weekends, and Holidays. NEWACS is also our Stevens County Designated Crisis Response (DCR). The DCR has the ability to detain and involuntarily commit individuals when they meet criteria for harm to self; harm to others; or being gravely disabled.

Group Therapy

Group therapy includes more than one individual being treated at the same time by at least one therapist. Some groups may have more than one therapist. Group sizes vary depending on the type of therapy. For instance, couples therapy, a type of group therapy that typically treats romantic partners, consists of two individuals; whereas, other groups, such as substance misuse groups, may include 10 to 12 people in one session. Researchers who study the effectiveness of group therapy generally recommend 6 to 12 individuals in a group. ₁

Family Treatment Services

Provided according to individual family needs

Individualized Counseling

Individual therapy is a shared process between a counselor and a person seeking support for problems related to mental health and/or substance use. Common goals of therapy can be to inspire change or improve quality of life. People may seek therapy for help with issues that are hard to face alone. Individual therapy is also called therapy, psychotherapy, psychosocial therapy, talk therapy, and counseling.

Therapy can help people overcome obstacles to their well-being. It can increase positive feelings, such as compassion and self-esteem. People in therapy can learn skills for handling difficult situations, making healthy decisions, and reaching goals. Many find they enjoy the therapeutic journey of becoming more self-aware. Some people even go to ongoing therapy for self-growth.

Least Restrictive Alternative

In most cases, an individual has been in a mental health or substance use crisis. A designated Crisis Responder for the county in which the crisis occurs is dispatched and has determined that the individuals meets criteria for being a risk to self and/or others. At that time the individual is involuntarily committed (similar to being arrested), to a facility for stabilization. During the time they spend in the facility they are evaluated and a course of treatment is very often initiated. It can be a combination of therapy and medication. When the individual stabilizes their case will be reviewed for release on a LRA.

A less restrictive alternative (LRA) is outpatient treatment provided to an individual who meets criteria for commitment but is not residing in a facility providing inpatient treatment. If the court finds that the individual meets the criteria for commitment, the court can either authorize commitment of the individual for inpatient treatment or for a less restrictive alternative treatment. Release under a less restrictive alternative is subject to conditions set by the court.

If the professional in charge of the outpatient treatment program or a Designated Crisis Responder (DCR) determines that an individual is failing to adhere to the conditions of the court for a less restrictive alternative treatment or conditions for the release or if there is deterioration in functioning, the individual can be taken into custody and transported to an inpatient evaluation and treatment facility. The DMHP must then file a petition with the court for revocation of less restrictive alternative treatment. RCW 71.34.740 (5), RCW 71.34.740 (10).

Relapse Prevention Strategy

Provides guides for self-evaluation, Personal improvement and instruction to aid relapse-prone persons.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

One of the most important things to remember about mental illness is this:

People can and do recover. If you have a friend with mental illness, or if you have a mental illness yourself, remember that recovery is possible. Reach out to those around you with compassion, empathy, and understanding.

This program allows Spokane Tribal members, members of other Native American tribes and the community as a whole to learn and grow in a positive environment that encourages individual development.

“Before you can achieve anything in life, you need to envision it. What do you want out of life — who and where do you want to be? Don’t be afraid to reach for more than you think you can achieve.”

Ready to Start Services?

To schedule an assessment, or for more information, please call 509-606-2764. We respect your privacy and hold all information discussed in the strictest confidence.

Have Questions?

This form is for general questions about our Spokane Tribe Behavioral Health services, programs and admissions. The form IS MONITORED DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS ONLY. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, DO NOT use this form. Allow up to 24-hours for a response. If you need more immediate assistance please call us.

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References

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Group Therapy in Substance Use Treatment.
Liu, H. M. (2023). What is Psychiatry? Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-psychiatry
Eabon, M., & Abrahamson, D. (2022). Understanding psychological testing and assessment. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/testing-assessment-measurement/understanding

NEWS

Opioid Awareness MonthJuly 12, 2023 - 3:18 pm
Opioid Awareness MonthJuly 12, 2023 - 3:15 pm

Behavioral Health

Contact Us

Our Mission:

The Team at Behavioral Health Values the Meaning of Confidentiality

Behavioral Health Services and Resources

Mental Health Services

Substance Abuse Services

Resources and Important Documents

Assessment and Diagnosis

Any Mental Illness

Serious Mental Illness

Psychiatry

Class of Medications

Psychological Evaluation and Testing

What to Expect?

Rehabilitative Case Management

Brief Intervention Treatment

Crisis Outreach

Group Therapy

Family Treatment Services

Individualized Counseling

Least Restrictive Alternative

What is a Less Restrictive Alternative (LRA)?

Relapse Prevention Strategy

Wellbriety In Spokane Weekly on Tuesday Nights!

Wellbriety Meeting Thursday

Wellbriety In Spokane Weekly on Tuesday Nights!

Wellbriety Meeting Thursday

Wellbriety In Spokane Weekly on Tuesday Nights!

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

Ready to Start Services?

Have Questions?

Wellbriety In Spokane Weekly on Tuesday Nights!

NEWS

CONTACT US