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Behavioral Health Outpatient Services in Palo Alto

It's care that works for you. Find out about convenient care options for Behavioral Health Outpatient Services in Palo Alto at Sutter Health. We're taking extra precautions every day to help keep patients, staff and providers safe.
Counseling session

In a Crisis? Call Call 988 for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

If this is an emergency, call 911.

Featured Services in Palo Alto

  • Evaluation and Diagnostic Services

Complete Evaluation and Therapy Services

When you are dealing with a mental health issue, you want compassionate care from experienced professionals. If you have mild to moderate symptoms, outpatient therapy — seeing a mental healthcare provider once a week or so in their office — is usually a good choice.

In the Sutter Health network, compassionate and experienced professionals can help you resolve mental health issues and get back to living a full life, resuming the daily activities you once enjoyed. Our goal is to get an accurate diagnosis, get you started with appropriate treatment, and eventually help you manage your condition.

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Evaluation and Diagnostic Services

We offer a variety of services to help diagnose your condition and create the most appropriate treatment plan. We use tools to assess your mental health including:

  • Psychiatric evaluation — A thorough assessment of mental health status, looking at symptoms, behaviors, effects on school, work, and relationships, speech and language abilities, and your personal and family history of related disorders.
  • Psychological assessment — Standardized question and answer tests that assess areas such as intelligence, cognitive functioning (ability to think, reason and speak), personality style, and level of depression or anxiety.
  • Medication assessment — A review of all medications you are taking, including assessment of possible side effects and interactions.
  • Addiction assessment — An examination of your current and past use of drugs and alcohol, withdrawal symptoms, effects on relationships, work, finances and health, your substance use treatment history, and your family history of addiction.
  • Eating disorder assessment — A comprehensive psychological and medical review of eating patterns and body image issues and the effects on physical health.

Counseling and Therapy Services

Once your healthcare provider makes a diagnosis, he or she will talk with you about a treatment plan. We offer many different options.

Individual, Family and Group Counseling

We provide one-on-one therapy meetings with a counselor, therapist, social worker or other mental healthcare provider. Many people meet once a week with their therapist; depending on your needs, therapy might continue for just a few weeks or for several months.

At many of our locations, we also offer group counseling led by mental health professionals. Groups may focus on issues such as social and functional living skills, learning about mental health conditions and medications, relapse prevention skills, stress reduction techniques, managing symptoms, safety planning, and occupational and recreational therapy.

During family counseling, marriage and family therapists help partners and other family members explore issues that are preventing the family from functioning well, and learn skills and communication techniques that can improve relationships.

In your individual, family or group sessions, your healthcare provider might suggest some specific types of therapy:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — CBT focuses on how a person’s thoughts and beliefs influence their behavior and moods, and helps change their thinking to more healthy patterns.
  • Mindfulness therapy — This type of therapy combines cognitive therapy with the principles of mindfulness (training the brain to deal with negative thoughts by accepting them, but not trying to change them or react to them).
  • Occupational therapy — Can help patients regain daily living skills such as cooking, managing finances, personal hygiene and socializing.
  • Recreational therapy — Activities such as art programs, pet therapy, drama therapy and others that help patients reduce symptoms, build confidence, learn to socialize better, improve physical health and develop other living skills.

Psychiatric Care

For some people with more serious or complex disorders, psychiatrists, medical doctors who specialize in mental health, can provide specialized care. Psychiatric treatment involves comprehensive evaluations, treatment plans and managed medication.

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Mental Health Research

Sutter Health Mental Health Research
About 26 percent of Americans each year suffer from a mental health disorder like depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anorexia. Our mental health affects our family, our job, how well we live and how soon we die. It’s important to find effective treatments and ways to prevent the damage from mental illness.

Sutter Health Mental Health Research Sutter Health Mental Health Research

Doctors Near Palo Alto

The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
Meredith C. Brady, M.D.

Meredith C. Brady, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Shirin Hoodei, M.D.

Shirin Hoodei, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Kate Kwiatkowski, M.D.

Kate Kwiatkowski, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Mercedes Kwiatkowski, M.D.

Mercedes Kwiatkowski, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Alan Marx, M.D.

Alan Marx, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Wendy Froehlich-Santino, M.D.

Wendy Froehlich-Santino, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Nan A. Link, M.D.

Nan A. Link, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Uzma Nakodary, M.D.

Uzma Nakodary, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

Janani Venugopalakrishnan, M.D.

Janani Venugopalakrishnan, M.D.

  • Psychiatry

View All Related Doctors

Services Near Palo Alto

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Mills-Peninsula Medical Center

Mills-Peninsula Medical Center

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Sutter Tracy Community Hospital

Sutter Tracy Community Hospital

Sutter Gould Medical Foundation

Sutter Gould Medical Foundation

View All Related Locations

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