Behavioral Health Center

ARROW supports professionals

Grady Gets It: A Vital Part of Healthcare

Everyone knows someone affected by behavioral health issues. More than 17 percent of Georgia adults and 10 percent of its youth struggle with issues ranging from clinical depression to substance abuse.

Recognizing the link between a person’s behavioral and physical health, Grady has become Georgia’s largest provider of behavioral health services, handling more than 45,000 outpatient visits and 1,200 in-patient admissions.

Our goal is to help people before they have a behavioral health crisis – and quickly stabilize them if they do. No one in Atlanta offers better, more comprehensive behavioral healthcare than Grady.

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Why Choose Us

We understand that behavioral health issues can be every bit as debilitating as a physical trauma. At Grady, you’ll find the unparalleled expertise and experience to help individuals through their challenges.

Our multidisciplinary behavioral health team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, people with lived experience, and other experts who care for our patients. The staff of Grady’s Behavioral Health team has been at the leading edge of research leading to advances in the treatment of patients with trauma, mental illness, and schizophrenia. Our research has been sponsored by the National Institute of Health and other organizations.

We are one of only a handful of U.S. hospitals staffed by multidisciplinary behavioral health specialists from two medical schools. Our physicians are faculty members of Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine. Because behavioral health issues are often accompanied by other health concerns, Grady offers one more advantage: We’ve spent more than 125 years building the most comprehensive medical services in Atlanta, to deliver the best care possible.

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What We Treat

A behavioral disorder is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feelings, or mood. It may result from genetics, environment, and lifestyle. It may affect an individual’s ability to relate to others and function in daily life. But most people can overcome their behavioral health conditions to have fulfilling social and professional lives. What’s important is identifying the condition early and commencing treatment as soon as possible.

Grady treats behavioral illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, and co-occurring substance use.

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorders are brain disorders that cause changes in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. People with bipolar disorders have extreme and intense emotional states that occur at distinct times. They also have periods of normal mood. Bipolar disorders can be treated, and people with these illnesses can lead full and productive lives.

Learn more about bipolar disorder.

Co-occurring addiction

Addiction is a complex brain disease that compels individuals to compulsively use substances even if they can be harmful. People may be addicted to alcohol or other drugs, to the point that the addiction takes over their lives. Addiction can distort how people think, how they behave, and how their body functions. Effective treatments are available, and people can recover from addiction and lead normal, productive lives.

Learn more about addiction.

Depression

Depression is more than just feeling sad. It is a serious behavioral health condition that requires understanding and medical care. In any given year, 16 million American adults – nearly 7 percent of the adult population — experience serious depression. Left untreated, the condition can devastate individuals and their families. Fortunately, with early detection, diagnosis, and a treatment plan that includes medication, therapy, and healthy lifestyle choices, most people get better.

Learn more about depression.

Psychosis

In general, psychosis means a loss of contact with reality. It is a symptom of several behavioral disorders and not a medical condition. During a psychotic episode, an individual may experience hallucinations or delusions and may see or hear things that do not exist. Early diagnosis tends to improve outcomes.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects less than 1 percent of the population. People with schizophrenia can experience delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. There is no cure for schizophrenia, but treatment helps to manage symptoms. Most people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent and live successfully in their local community.

Learn more about schizophrenia.

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Access To Care

There are three ways to access Grady Behavioral Health assistance:

Emergency/Crisis services
Individuals experiencing urgent behavioral health issues may seek help at Grady’s Emergency Department, which has around-the-clock behavioral health staff. The emergency department is located at 80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE.

Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL)
If you are experiencing a behavioral crisis, call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 800-715-4225. Staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, GCAL can help you find the resources you need and help you schedule an outpatient appointment. The next available appointment may be at a provider other than Grady.

Outpatient services
Individuals who need non-acute care are welcome to walk-in and request a consultation at Grady’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Center at 10 Park Place NE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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Locations and Directions

Need directions? Download Grady GO! our free app for turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

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Our Services

Assertive community treatment (ACT)

This is a community-based service that provides high-touch and high-intensity support to clients in their homes and other community settings. The goal is to prevent behavioral health crises that force people to seek emergency care or hospitalization. A multidisciplinary team provides services, including medication management, therapy, substance use treatment, and vocational and recovery support.

Case management

This community-based service supports individuals with behavioral health issues to access services to support their recovery, as well as social supports for benefits, housing, and life goals. Referrals are accepted from Grady’s psychiatric services, as well as from Georgia state psychiatric hospitals and other government agencies.

Inpatient psychiatric services

Grady operates a 24-bed inpatient unit that is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. They stabilize patients and work with them to develop aftercare and recovery plans. The inpatient unit is located at Grady Hospital.

Integrated behavioral health

To identify behavioral health issues early – and get treatment started as soon as possible – Grady’s behavioral health team offers support services in Grady Primary Care and Neighborhood centers and other clinics. This team combines the efforts of behavioral health specialists with the care provided by primary care staff. You can access integrated behavioral health services at Grady, 80 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr. SE, and each of our neighborhood health centers.

Outpatient behavioral health services

Clinic based services include diagnostic evaluations, medication management, counseling group, and substance use services. Grady also offers intensive aftercare programs for individuals recently discharged from the hospital. New patients are taken as walk-ins Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Grady’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Center is located at 10 Park Place NE, Atlanta.

Psychiatric consultation services

We provide behavioral health services to individuals who are admitted to Grady for medical concerns and who need behavioral health support. The service includes psychiatrists, physician assistants, and psychologists.

Psychiatric emergency services

Individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis may access help by calling 911, contacting Georgia’s Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225 or going to the Grady Emergency Department, which is staffed with dedicated psychiatric emergency services personnel. Individuals are evaluated and assessed to determine if they need inpatient care. The Emergency Department is located at 80 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr. SE, in Atlanta.

Psychosocial rehabilitation

Services that support individuals in their return to school, work or other meaningful activities. Groups and individual training to increase social support, obtain tools needed to reengage in their community life. Psychosocial rehabilitation services are provided based on identified needs of the individual and planned along with their treatment team at Grady’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Center.

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Research

Grady research contributes to continuing improvement in the treatment of behavioral health disorders.

As one of the nation’s elite teaching hospitals, our clinicians have been involved in a variety of research programs that have sought to improve the treatment of behavioral disorders, behavioral health patients experiencing physical illnesses and schizophrenia. We remain committed to doing vital research that will continue to redefine behavioral health care.

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Grady Stories

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Our Doctors

Every hospital treats patients. At Grady, we strive to treat them better, more efficiently and more effectively. Our mission to care for all who need us attracts behavioral health specialists from across the nation, and most are employed by Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine. They are drawn here by the knowledge that we test the limits of medicine by innovating existing standards of care, researching cutting-edge drugs and therapies, and exploring novel treatments.

Our zeal for innovation has given Grady a national reputation for medical advancement in areas like behavioral health, heart disease, cancer, burns, and other conditions cared for by specialists in our centers of excellence. Access to all of these accredited practices is available to every Grady patient.

Dr. Farzana M. Bharmal

Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry

Dr. Aalok  Chandora
Dr. Aalok Chandora

Psychiatry

Dr. Robert O. Cotes
Dr. Robert O. Cotes

Director PSTAR Clinic

Dr. Lauren M. Gensler

Internal Medicine

Dr. David R. Goldsmith

Co-Director; Persistent Symptoms: Treatment, Assessment, Recover (PSTAR) Clinic

Dr. Tamara Z. Haynes
Dr. Tamara Z. Haynes

Psychiatry, Internal Medicine

Dr. Grayson S. Norquist

Chief of Service, Psychiatry

Dr. Justin M. Palanci

Medical Director, Assertive Community Treatment

Dr. Ann C. Schwartz
Dr. Ann C. Schwartz

Director of Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Service

Dr. Martha C. Ward

Psychiatry, Internal Medicine

Dr. Monica  Ward
Dr. Monica Ward

Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry

Dr. Jennifer P. Wootten

Medical Director, Outpatient Psychiatry