About the Facility
Erie VA Medical Center's Behavioral Health Clinic offers a wide array of services to Veterans experiencing mental health issues. Erie VA Medical Center's services offered include individual, couple, family, and group therapy as well as psychiatric assessments.
Erie VA Medical Center exists to serve the veteran through the delivery of timely quality care by staff who demonstrate outstanding customer service. They hope to serve and honor the nation’s veterans following President Lincoln’s promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan”.
Erie VA Medical Center is recognized as a top-performing medical center in the delivery of high-quality health care. We have the honor and privilege to serve more than 20,000 Veterans in a nine-county area within northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and southwestern New York.
Erie VA Medical Center is a Joint Commission-accredited, complexity level three facility. The medical center’s mission is to provide exceptional health care to Veterans. The two highest volume services provided include Primary Care and Behavioral Health.
They also provide Veterans with Telehealth, for access to health care that is timely, more convenient and easier to access through the use of new health care technology including video conferencing and health monitoring devices that can connect patients to their health care team.
Accreditations
Joint Commission
The Joint Commission, formerly known as JCAHO, is a nonprofit organization that accredits rehab organizations and programs. Founded in 1951, the Joint Commision's mission is to improve the quality of patient care and demonstrating the quality of patient care.
Joint Commission Accreditation: Yes
Accreditation Number: 2374
SAMHSA
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1992 by congress, SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on American's communities.
SAMHSA Listed: Yes
Treatment
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a syndrome of dependent alcohol use. Also called alcohol use disorder (AUD), the symptoms include craving alcohol, not being able to stop drinking, and feeling anxious or irritable when not drinking. For many people, alcohol rehab in Pennsylvania is a beneficial treatment. Programs offer many levels of care, including medical and behavioral therapies.
Drug Addiction
Drug rehab in Pennsylvania is devoted to the treatment of addiction. Levels of care, treatment methods, and settings differ, but the aim of each program is to end drug dependency and empower participants to achieve long-term recovery.
Dual Diagnosis
Pennsylvania's specialized dual-diagnosis addiction treatment programs prioritize comprehensive care for individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions. Providing various levels of care, including outpatient, inpatient, and partial hospitalization, dual-diagnosis experts use evidence-based therapies, recovery support groups, and education to treat both disorders, promote mental health, and improve your quality of life.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
In Pennsylvania, dual-diagnosis rehabs specialize in providing comprehensive care for individuals facing both mental health and substance abuse challenges. These facilities offer personalized treatment plans, integrating evidence-based therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and experiential therapy. Other recovery services, like 12-Step meetings, skills training, educational groups, and an aftercare plan will enhance your odds of long-term recovery.
Opioid Addiction
Opioid rehabs specialize in supporting those recovering from opioid addiction. They treat those suffering from addiction to illegal opioids like heroin, as well as prescription drugs like oxycodone. These centers typically combine both physical as well as mental and emotional support to help stop addiction. Physical support often includes medical detox and subsequent medical support (including medication), and mental support includes in-depth therapy to address the underlying causes of addiction.
Insurance and Financial
- Self-pay options
- Military insurance
- Financial aid
Programs
- Adult program
- Elderly program
- Hearing impaired program
- HIV/AIDS program
- LGBTQ program: The Erie VAMC is committed to providing top quality care to all Veterans including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Veterans. They recognize that diverse populations have distinctive needs and are training their staff in culturally and clinically-competent care for LGBT Veterans. They are focused on providing the most respectful health care environment possible.
- Military program
- Program for men
- Program for women
- Young adult program
Levels of Care
Outpatient
Outpatient rehabs specialize in providing comprehensive care for clients who choose to remain in their homes and communities during treatment. Their services may include transitional support for clients stepping down from intensive inpatient programming. Ambulatory medical detox may be provided for clients at low risk for withdrawal complications. Many programs include evening, night, and weekend services to accommodate clients who are working professionals or caregivers. Addiction counseling and life skills training are common treatment modalities.
Inpatient
Residential treatment programs are those that offer housing and meals in addition to substance abuse treatment. Rehab facilities that offer residential treatment allow patients to focus solely on recovery, in an environment totally separate from their lives. Some rehab centers specialize in short-term residential treatment (a few days to a week or two), while others solely provide treatment on a long-term basis (several weeks to months). Some offer both, and tailor treatment to the patient's individual requirements.
Partial Hospitalization Program
With a partial hospitalization program (PHP), you can participate in intensive rehabilitation treatment with the ability to return home at the end of the day. For a weekly minimum of 20 hours, a partial hospitalization program can take place up to 5 days a week for an average of 90 days. During PHP treatment, you can receive relapse prevention strategies, medication management, individual and group therapy, and other behavioral therapy interventions.
Medically Assisted Detox
A medical detox is the safest way to wean your body off drugs and/or alcohol in an inpatient setting. When detoxing from addictive substances, the physical and psychological side effects of withdrawal can cause mood swings, anxiety, nausea, or flu-like symptoms. In medically assisted detox, a team of medical professionals are on hand 24/7 to help alleviate potential withdrawal symptoms, administer medications to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, and ultimately keep you safe and comfortable throughout this process.
Aftercare Support
Completing a drug or alcohol rehab program shouldn't spell the end of substance abuse treatment. Aftercare involves making a sustainable plan for recovery, including ongoing support. This can include sober living arrangements like halfway houses, career counseling, and setting a patient up with community programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).
Clinical Services
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapy modality that focuses on the relationship between one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is used to establish and allow for healthy responses to thoughts and feelings (instead of unhealthy responses, like using drugs or alcohol). CBT has been proven effective for recovering addicts of all kinds, and is used to strengthen a patient's own self-awareness and ability to self-regulate. CBT allows individuals to monitor their own emotional state, become more adept at communicating with others, and manage stress without needing to engage in substance abuse.
Couples Therapy
Whether a marriage or other committed relationship, an intimate partnership is one of the most important aspects of a person's life. Drug and alcohol addiction affects both members of a couple in deep and meaningful ways, as does rehab and recovery. Couples therapy and other couples-focused treatment programs are significant parts of exploring triggers of addiction, as well as learning how to build healthy patterns to support ongoing sobriety.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modified form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a treatment designed to help people understand and ultimately affect the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. DBT is often used for individuals who struggle with self-harm behaviors, such as self-mutilation (cutting) and suicidal thoughts, urges, or attempts. It has been proven clinically effective for those who struggle with out-of-control emotions and mental health illnesses like Borderline Personality Disorder.
Family Therapy
Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.
Group Therapy
Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.
Individual Therapy
In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.
Life Skills
Life skills trainings involve all the skills a person must have in order to function successfully in the world. These include time management, career guidance, money management, and effective communication. Truly successful addiction recovery is based on the ability to not only live substance-free, but to thrive. Life skills teaches the practical necessities of functioning in society, which sets clients up for success in life, and therefore sobriety.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a clinical approach to helping people with substance abuse issues and other conditions shift behavior in positive ways. It is more goal-oriented than traditional psychotherapy, as MI counselors directly attempt to get clients to consider making behavioral change (rather than wait for them to come to conclusions themselves). Its primary purpose is to resolve ambivalence and help clients become able to make healthy choices freely.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a way of getting nicotine into the bloodstream without smoking. It uses products that supply low doses of nicotine to help people stop smoking. The goal of therapy is to cut down on cravings for nicotine and ease the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Trauma Therapy
Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.
Settings and Amenities
- Residential setting
- Private setting
- Private transportation
Contact
135 East 38th street
Erie PA, 16504