Whether it's coping with a traumatic brain injury or helping a family member with a neurological disease, the Departments of Psychiatry at Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital Center can help.

The departments offer psychiatric assessment, advice and support to other units and programs within the LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute. Members of the psychiatric departments treat all aspects of a person and care for each patient as an individual.

Often neurological diseases or ailments can mean feelings of anxiety, depression, irritability, feelings of sadness, or difficulty concentrating. Members of the Departments of Psychiatry at Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital Center can help manage chronic pain, plus evaluate and treat those whose disorders within the brain have impacted behavior, cognition and intellect. The Brain & Spine Institute's multidisciplinary approach to care means there is constant communication between a psychiatrist and physician, surgeon and/or specialist.

Coping with a neurological ailment also can have a profound impact on the family. It is normal for relatives or loved ones of the patient to feel stressed or depressed, and they may benefit from counseling or a support group.

Patients who are referred to us can receive a full clinical workup. The Departments of Psychiatry at Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital Center have extensively trained staff, including psychiatric nurses, social workers and specially trained psychiatrists, including those with training in geriatric medicine. Psychiatrists can follow a patient as he or she is admitted to the hospital.

There are often multiple treatment options for patients, including:

• Therapy
• Group therapy
• Biofeedback
• Medications
• Support groups

LifeBridge Health has a variety of psychiatric services, including inpatient units at Northwest Hospital and Mount Pleasant, an Adult Partial Hospitalization/Intensive Outpatient Program (PHP/IOP) at Sinai Hospital, and the Sinai Hospital Addictions Recovery Program (SHARP). SHARP is an outpatient substance abuse program that provides individual, group and family counseling to opiate-addicted patients. Methadone is used in conjunction with these other therapies to help patients manage their addictions.

The LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute is a comprehensive integrated inpatient and outpatient program dedicated to improving outcomes in patients with diseases of the nervous system and spine. The institute's specialists, who work in multidisciplinary teams, include those with expertise in neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedics, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), emergency medicine, pain management sleep disorders, neuropsychiatry, neuro-oncology, radiation oncology, and neuro-opthalmology.
 
The neurological disorders treated at the institute include Alzheimer's disease, brain injuries and tumors, epilepsy, back and spine pain, normal pressure hydrocephalus, spasticity and disorders of muscle tone, scoliosis, spinal cord injuries and tumors, and stroke.

The LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute encompasses Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital Center, each of which has dedicated institute programs. The Brain & Spine Institute outpatient center is located on the Sinai campus. For more information about the services available at the Brain & Spine Institute, call 1-888-747-8899.