About CKHS Behavioral Health and Senior Recovery Services

Crozer-Keystone Health System Behavioral Services offers an array of resources to patients and their families. Our caring and compassionate team of health care professionals, including physicians who specialize in geriatric psychiatry, will work with the patient and their primary care physician to identify the problem and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Contrary to popular belief, depression, dementia and memory loss are not a normal part of the aging process; they are behavioral health conditions that require medical treatment. As our community gets older, patients are frequently faced with multiple medical problems, and must often attempt to cope with the death of a loved one. Our team of behavioral health experts--led by Susan K. Ball, M.D., a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience in geriatric psychiatry-address these and other issues in a setting that best meets the patient's needs.

Senior Recovery Services

Crozer-Keystone Health System Senior Recovery Services is an outpatient program for older adults. Our goal is to create an environment where patients can confront their addiction and engage in behaviors that would lead to their recovery. Many seniors are caught in the destructive pattern of substance abuse. Grief, chronic illnesses and other life stresses are often contributors.
 
In finding ways to cope with their issues, patients frequently self-medicate, which sometimes leads to a very real abuse problem with alcohol, prescription medications, recreational drugs or other harmful substances. Older patients fail to realize the problem and, therefore, do not report it to their doctor.

Services Provided

Psychiatric Interview and Evaluation
A staff psychiatrist completes an initial evaluation. The goal of the evaluation is to gather thorough information on current behavioral health problems, medical and social problems, and current lifestyle changes. For substance abusers, this process helps the therapist understand the patient's addiction. This information will also help us individualize the treatment plan and determine the level of service that would be most beneficial to the patient.
 
Outpatient Counseling Services

Outpatient counseling services are designed to meet the need of each patient. The patient's symptoms and overall progress during treatment determine the frequency of these sessions.
 
Individual Therapy

A one-on-one session with a mental health professional (psychologist or social worker). This affords the patient the opportunity to openly discuss personal or environmental factors that are contributing to their specific problem.
 
Group Therapy

Occurs either in a weekly group session with a mental health professional (psychologist or social worker) or two-to-three times a week, if the patient is identified as needing the Intensive Outpatient Program. This setting gives the patients an opportunity to talk about the challenges they are currently facing.
 
Family Sessions

Some illnesses, such as dementia, are very difficult for family members to adapt to. In this setting, we can provide the patient's caregiver or family members guidance and equip them with coping techniques to help them better communicate with and care for their loved one.
 
Caregiver Support Group

We offer support to individuals who have family members with a behavioral health problem and assist them in recognizing the impact that these behaviors have on the overall family system.
 
Medication Management

Our psychiatrist sometimes prescribes medication that will help the patient manage their illness. Follow-up appointments are needed to monitor the patient's progress and to adjust medication, if necessary. For patients who are graduates of our Senior Recovery Program, we also offer 12-step age-specific meetings for those who need additional support.
 
Case Management Services

Our skilled case managers provide support to the patient by performing numerous tasks. They assist in identifying and accessing community resources that may benefit the patient.
 
Client/Family Education

We offer our patients and families educational tools to assist them in understanding the patient's condition and/or addiction. We provide caregivers with techniques that will better enable them to offer support and encouragement to the patient.
Crozer-Keystone's Behavioral Health Services programs are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
 
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