PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy is a learning process in which mental health professionals seek to help individuals by the exchange of verbal communication. It is often referred to as “talk therapy”. Many types of psychotherapy are available at CBC. Some focus on changing current behavior patterns and others focus on understanding past issues. Through this process, the patient may:

     • Learn about the causes of their condition so they can better understand it.
     • Learn to identify and change behaviors or thoughts that adversely affect you.
     • Explore relationships and experiences.
     • Find better ways to cope and solve problems.
     • Learn to set realistic goals for your life.

CBC offers the following types of psychotherapies to individuals, groups, and families:

     • Behavior therapy which focuses on changing unwanted, unhealthy behaviors.
     • Cognitive therapy which is designed to help you identify and change distorted thought patterns that lead to destructive feelings and behaviors.
     • Cognitive-behavior therapy combines features of both cognitive and behavior therapy to identify destructive and negative beliefs and replace them
        with healthy, positive beliefs.
     • Dialectical behavior therapy is a type of cognitive-behavior therapy designed to teach you effective behavioral skills, tolerate stress, regulate
        emotions, and improve relationships.
     • Exposure therapy is a form of behavior therapy that exposes you to things that bother of upset you with the goal of helping you learn to cope
       more effectively.
     • Interpersonal therapy focuses on current relationships with others with the goal of improving your interpersonal skills.
     • Play therapy for young children without the verbal skills necessary to express emotions and feelings.
     • Psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on increasing your awareness of unconscious thoughts and behaviors which can lead to increased awareness
        and understanding of behaviors while developing new insights and resolving conflicts.
     • Psychoeducation focuses on teaching you and other key people in your life about your illness. It encompasses exploring treatment options, coping
        strategies and problem-solving skills for your illness.
     • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is a complex approach to psychotherapy that accelerates the treatment of a wide
        range of pathologies and self esteem issues related to past traumatic events and present life conditions.

PHARMACOTHERAPY

New medications for the treatment of a wide range of disorders are among the achievements stoked by research advances in both neuroscience and molecular biology. Through the process known as rational drug design, researchers have become increasingly sophisticated at designing drugs by manipulating their chemical structures. Their goal is to create more effective therapeutic agents, with fewer side effects, exquisitely targeted to correct the biochemical alterations that accompany mental disorders.

CBC’s medical staff stays current with the newest drugs available to treat a wide array of conditions including: schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity, mania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING SERVICES

Psychological Testing is a sub-field of Clinical Psychology specializing in measurement of human abilities, traits, and characteristics. Primarily, psychologists use tests to measure personality characteristics, intelligence and cognitive (thinking, attention, memory) characteristics.

There are hundreds of psychological tests in existence. The best know are intelligence tests like the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler which yield IQ scores and help classify people into categories such as normal, gifted, learning disabled, and mentally retarded for school placement purposes. Other tests measure personality and some may help determine if you have attention problems while others can help diagnose disordered thinking.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING SERVICES

Clinical neuropsychology is a field with historical origins in both psychology and neurology. The primary activity of neuropsychologists is assessment of brain functioning through structured and systematic behavioral observation. Neuropsychological tests are designed to examine a variety of cognitive abilities, including speed of information processing, attention, memory, language, and executive functions, which are necessary for goal-directed behavior. By testing a range of cognitive abilities and examining patterns of performance in different cognitive areas, neuropsychologists can make inferences about underlying brain function. Neuropsychological testing is an important component of the assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury, dementia, neurological conditions, and psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological testing is also an important tool for examining the effects of toxic substances and medical conditions on brain functioning.

HOSPITAL SERVICES

CBC physicians have staff privileges at First Health of the Carolinas. Hospital services available include:

     • Psychiatric inpatient services.
     • Inpatient and out-patient electroseizure treatment (ECT).
     • Inpatient detoxification services for all drugs and alcohol.
     • Consultation liaison services.



SITE SPECIFIC SERVICES

In addition to the services listed above that are generally available at all of our clinics, some sites offer unique services solely at that locale. These are:

     • Pinehurst, Rockingham, Hillsborough, Durham, Henderson, and Raleigh are the only sites which currently provide neuropsychological and
       psychological testing services.
     • Pinehurst and Rockingham are the only sites which currently provide EMDR therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

TELEPSYCHIATRY SERVICES

     • Telepsychiatry services are currently available for patients in Roanoke Rapids (originating site) to see a psychiatrist or therapist at our Raleigh clinic
        (distant site).
     • Yanceyville (originating site) is served by our clinical staff in Burlington (distant site).
     • Telepsychiatry services are being developed to serve the North Carolina Community Care Network through primary care practice sites.
     • Telepsychiatry services are being developed to serve emergency departments in North Carolina hospitals.