Inpatient Psychiatry

Inpatient treatment is often necessary when a patient has acute psychiatric problems such as clinical depression, schizophrenia, or other severe conditions. In such cases, patients at UT Southwestern Medical Center receive an intensive, individualized program that combines psychotherapy and medication.

We offer inpatient treatment at Zale Lipshy University Hospital for patients who experience acute psychiatric symptoms. Mental health professionals in this program are prepared to treat even the most challenging patients.

Our physicians and researchers have access to the latest scientific findings and treatments for many psychiatric illnesses that require inpatient care.

Some of the illnesses we treat on an inpatient basis are:

Anxiety, phobias, and panic disorders

A group of disorders that includes panic disorders, social phobia, and generalized anxiety; treated through psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy

Bipolar disorder

A mood disorder characterized by alternating episodes of depression and mania; initial consultation and evaluation by UT Southwestern’s bipolar specialists; addressed through the latest treatment approaches, including pharmacological and/or alternative or complementary treatments

Depression

A common illness, ranging from mild cases that don’t affect daily performance, to severe depression that complicates medical illnesses or disables patients; treated through psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and emerging approaches

Mood disorders

A group of diagnoses in which a disturbance in the person's mood is believed to be the main underlying feature; treated through psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, with particular focus on identifying biological and psychological abnormalities associated with these conditions

Schizophrenia

A potentially disabling chronic illness; treated through psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and emerging approaches based on current neuroscience research

Treatments

Upon admission to UT Southwestern, our psychiatrists and psychologists use a team approach for crisis stabilization. They then work with each patient to create an individualized treatment program.

All patients are cared for in an accessible, controlled, and safe environment that offers:

• An after-care program to which patients may be referred for continued counseling and medication management when they leave the hospital
• An individualized program that combines psychotherapy and medication
• Crisis stabilization, using a team approach
• Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), which is only available at Zale Lipshy University Hospital
• Family consultation

Inpatients treated for psychiatric illness may be eligible to participate in UT Southwestern’s clinical trials program. Participants receive therapies years before they become available to the general public. Patients should ask their doctor if they are candidates for some of these groundbreaking therapies.

Consult Liaison Psychiatry Service

Another facet of inpatient care is consult liaison psychiatry. These professionals provide psychological and psychiatric care to patients with medical or surgical conditions. Consult liaison psychiatrists and psychologists treat patients with medication management, bedside psychotherapy, and behavioral medicine interventions. They also educate hospital staff about the mental health issues that affect patients under their care.

Some of the patients who are seen by this service include persons with burn injuries, victims of violence, and obstetric patients with delivery difficulties, postpartum depression, stillbirth, or babies placed for adoption.

Neuropsychiatry Program

Zale Lipshy University Hospital also offers a specialty neuropsychiatric program within the general inpatient psychiatric unit. This program provides exceptional inpatient psychiatric care to patients with various central nervous system diagnoses resulting in significant psychiatric conditions, such as depression, anxiety, mood instability, or psychosis.

Each patient receives an individualized treatment plan, which generally consists of:

• Brief rehabilitation training
• Careful discharge planning
• Consultations regarding physical therapy, occupational therapy, neurology, neurosurgery, and medicine as needed
• Education and therapy for families
• Group and individual psychotherapy, emphasizing education and adjustment to illness
• Thorough neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological evaluations