Partnering With Facilities

---

For residential communities, SoCalm Mental Health Services offers many important services for your residents. We dispatch our Psychotherapists to your communities at no cost to you!

SoCalm Mental Health Services therapists participate in the patient’s care as a member of their treatment team. Our clinicians focus their care on behavior modification and provide family support, resulting in positive transitions for patients and staff. Additional benefits for facilities include staff education, clinical support services, and specialized mental health programs. 

 An adjustment (transition) disorder occurs when an individual is unable to adjust to or cope with a stressor, like a major life event. Since people with this disorder normally have symptoms that depressed people do, such as general loss of interest, feelings of hopelessness and crying, this disorder is also sometimes known as situational depression. Unlike major depression however, the disorder is caused by an outside stressor and generally resolves once the individual can adapt to the situation. Adjustment disorder may also be acute or chronic, depending on whether it lasts more or less than six months. If the adjustment disorder lasts less than 6 months, then it may be considered acute. If it lasts more than 6 months, it may be considered chronic. Diagnosis of adjustment disorder is quite common; there is an estimated incidence of 5–21% among psychiatric consultation services for adults. Adult women are diagnosed twice as often as are adult men. 

Often, the recommended treatment for adjustment disorder is psychotherapy. The goal of psychotherapy is symptom relief and behavior change. Treatment allows the patient to put his or her distress or rage into words rather than into destructive actions. Individual therapy can help a person gain the support they need, identify these abnormal responses and maximize the use of the individual’s strengths. Counseling, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, family therapy, behavioral therapy and self-help group treatment are often used to encourage the verbalization of fears, anxiety, rage, helplessness, and hopelessness. As prescribed by the patients’ physician, sometimes small doses of antidepressants and anxiolytics are also used in addition to other forms of treatment. In addition to professional help, family and caregivers can help their relative with their difficulty adjusting by:

• offering encouragement to talk about his/her emotions
• offering support and understanding
• reassuring the resident that their reactions are normal
• communicate with family members to with updates on the resident’s progress
• assisting residents in making simple decisions, such as what show to watch on TV or what activities they enjoy most, etc.
• having the patient engage in a hobby or activity they enjoy
• encouraging residents to engage in assisted living activities
• As these situations’ effects family, significant others, treatment and counseling are not only directed towards residents, but also involve the patient’s family, close friends and caregivers.

For these transitional situations and adjustment disorders, SoCalm Mental Health Services offers an awareness program, baseline and ongoing assessments and individual and group therapy for residents.