At HIMG, we're committed to the whole health and wellness of our patients, their families, and our communities, including complete physical and emotional well-being. The integrated behavioral health department at HIMG’s mission is to optimize patient functioning so that patients can live more fulfilled lives and cope adaptively with the demands and stresses of life.
Through taking a comprehensive and individualized approach to care, our behavioral health providers pay attention to how biological factors (such as physical disease states), psychological factors (such as depression, anxiety, and stress), and social factors (such as environment, upbringing, or other life circumstances) interact to contribute to current functioning and distress.
Additionally, our behavioral health providers are able to develop a holistic care plan by working closely within an interdisciplinary model, meaning that the patients’ physicians and behavioral health providers are in contact to ensure outcomes and continuum of care.
As a part of our mission, we also provide community presentations to increase awareness of behavioral health and to improve overall education of the intersection between mental and physical functioning.
Common behavioral health services we offer include individual therapy for the following concerns:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma reactions or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Adjustment to life stressors or transitions
- Relational concerns
- Weight management
- Quitting smoking/smoking cessation
- Grief
As physical functioning often interacts with mental well-being, our behavioral health providers also work with patients undergoing adjustment to the following health conditions:
- Diabetes (Type 1 and 2)
- Cancer
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) and other cardiac concerns
- Stroke or Cerebrovascular Accident
- Sleep Disorders
- Chronic Pain
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Women’s Health
The value of a team-based approach to care is also seen is our use of a shared medical visits. Here, patients meet as a group, often with a family member present to learn more about their health condition and care plan from a host of providers including: medical and behavioral health providers and a dietitian. These shared visits are specifically designed to help the patient and their family by learning how they can benefit from making small changes to personal behavior. This is usually a one-time, one-day visit, with all of the mentioned providers meeting with the patients from 2:00-4:00. Shared medical visits are offered for the following conditions: diabetes, congestive heart failure, and COPD.
As part of our dedication to continually meet the needs of our community and patients, we also look forward to expanding group-based services.
A few notes about our practice:
- Evidence-based approaches are used by our providers.
- Each of our providers have been uniquely trained in health and clinical psychology. This allows us to understand and develop effective treatment plans for patients confronted with chronic medical conditions, psychological concerns, and/or both.
- Our providers are doctoral-level psychologists. Psychologists do not prescribe medications.
- Each initially appointment (intake) is, on average 50-60 minutes. We ask all patients to arrive 30 minutes prior to the appointment time to complete paperwork. Paperwork is not mailed.
- Follow-up appointments are generally either 30 minutes or 50-60 minutes, depending on need. Patients are asked to arrive 20 minutes prior to their appointment to ensure start time. This length of a session is achieved through use of the integrative model of care, where we focus entirely on the area/s of improvement and collaboratively develop a realistic treatment plan.
- We strive to start and end on-time will all appointments. Many of our patients see multiple providers in one-day and/or have other life commitments they need to be on time for. As such, lateness to an appointment will result in re-scheduling.
- Our patients are primarily adults. Dr. Stevens does seem adolescents as well.
- We do not provide the following: family or couples counseling; disability evaluations or paperwork including FMLA; court-ordered treatment; psychological testing; or crisis care.
Scheduling
Behavioral Health: Primary Care and Internal Medicine, Dr. Sarah Stevens, 304-428-4620: Diabetes, HTN, obesity, medical compliance issues, cardiac conditions, metabolic disorders, GI, and autoimmune…
Behavioral Health: Specialty, Dr, Christina Lawrence, 304-528-4662: Oncology, pulmonary conditions such as COPD and Cystic Fibrosis; smoking cessation, pain conditions, Fibromyalgia, sleep disorders, adjustment to bariatric procedures…
Both providers also treat general behavioral health concerns as mentioned above.
Please note, the numbers listed above are NOT crisis lines. We do not operate crisis lines. They are meant to schedule/re-schedule attempts. If you receive the voicemail, please leave your name, phone number you can be reached at, and brief message. Due to confidentially, we do not leave messages when we return calls.
Please contact us at (304) 399-4620.
HIMG is an outpatient facility of St. Mary's Medical Center.