[By Danielle Lumia, Manager, Personalized Recovery Oriented Services, Samaritan Hospital.]
If you have been diagnosed with severe anxiety, depression, PTSD, or other mental health illness, the disease is not who you are as a person. It is something you can choose to manage in a healthy way, not unlike people with diabetes, heart disease, or other chronic conditions. You can realize your dreams just like people who don’t have these mental health diagnoses.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, St. Peter’s Health Partners would like to tell you about a program unique to New York state called Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS). This is an intensive outpatient program at Samaritan Hospital where we focus on the recovery of patients with mental illness, who may also have substance use issues.
Although medication management is part of PROS, we really focus on the recovery of the whole person. Among other things, we use skills-based and wellness classes to help participants achieve personal life goals that often include:
- Dealing with grief
- Learning to socialize
- Finding a job or housing
- Going back to school
- Staying out of the hospital
- Creating meaningful relationships
Some patients come to our office once a week and others come multiple days. Some participate for a year and others for multiple years. It’s tailored to each individual’s goals and needs.
Our providers can also treat people out in the community. We can see patients in their homes, take them out to a coffee shop to help practice social skills, and more.
One in five adults experience mental illness. When I think about how many people may go without treatment because of the stigma associated with the disease, it’s very disheartening. But PROS is a program of hope and nonjudgement. Everyone deserves a second, third, fourth, or fifth chance to help themselves become who they want to be. We have someone who works in our department who graduated from PROS. Another participant successfully completed medical school!
PROS is a Medicaid-funded program; however, there is a sliding payment scale for non-Medicaid patients.
If you or someone you love is struggling with a mental illness, consider the health and lifestyle benefits of the PROS program. Patients can self-refer with a proven diagnosis of severe mental illness. Call 518-271-1122 and ask to speak to the intake coordinator.
To find information on our other behavioral health services, including crisis services, inpatient hospital care, and long-term outpatient counseling, visit us at Behavioral Health | St. Peter’s Health Partners | Albany, NY.
