Investing in expanded behavioral health care: Successful treatment for adult anxiety

As demand for outpatient mental health and substance use services continues to grow nationally and here in the northwest suburban communities, Endeavor Health is investing in expanded behavioral health care and access with a new outpatient center in Palatine.

Among the critical services offered at the new center is our essential adult anxiety program, which successfully incorporates both group therapy and exposure therapy. We know that adults challenged with a variety of sources of anxiety benefit from practicing appropriate responses and skills to manage their anxiety with support from a peer group.

We help patients with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) centered on non-judgmental awareness of the things we can't control and appropriate actions in the things we can control.

Research has shown that it's less the emotional state of anxiety itself that really harms people and more the things they do to try and avoid the anxiety. For someone challenged with social anxiety their response may be constantly opting out of events and gatherings with friends, family and others, robbing them of meaningful connections with others.

Our strong combination of exposure and ACT group therapy helps people build acceptance with the sources of their anxiety while developing resilience and skills to manage the stressors. Our experienced clinical therapists are fully integrated into the group sessions working with and building rapport with individual patients.

Our clinicians connect with patients and work to help them achieve their individual, specific goals. We also work closely with a network of outpatient providers in the community, ensuring smooth transitions from the program to ongoing, individual therapy.

This program is often a turning point for patients struggling with significant anxiety, it's a first step that puts them on a path to bigger successes and meaningful changes with a continuum of care and personalized therapy.

It's so very gratifying to see the positive changes and progress that can happen within four to six weeks and beyond. There's nothing our team enjoys more than the notes we receive from patients telling us they are now able to do the thing they never thought they could, whether it's traveling across the country for a family gathering or developing bonds with colleagues.

In addition to the adult anxiety program, the new outpatient center will offer mental health evaluation and referral; hospital-based group therapy (PHP and IOP); outpatient therapy and psychiatric services including medication management and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression and OCD patients who have not improved with medication.

The new center will help ensure faster outpatient placement from emergency departments and strengthen our behavioral health infrastructure with expanded capacity and programming and improved continuity of care.

Services are offered for adolescents 12-17-years-old, and adults 18 and older.