Mental Health

NorthShore Health Centers offers mental health care in the primary care setting (integrated care) in the Portage, Chesterton, Lake Station, Hammond,  Merrillville , and Gary communities. This service is offered in order to address the health care needs of the consumers who come in for primary medical care and may also be suffering from a mental health issue, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks or other health concerns that affect their overall health and wellbeing. By treating the patient holistically and not separating the physical from the mental, NorthShore hopes to better serve the health care needs of the communities and patients we serve.

Mental health also includes lifestyle modifications, such as dealing with chronic pain conditions, parenting issues, family stresses, and illnesses that may be caused or be affected by stress, i.e. digestion issues, insomnia, etc.

The goal of integrated health care is to improve overall health through comprehensive care by treating physical problems while decreasing the mental health load on the patient and providing a team approach for the primary care providers and mental health consultants.

These services have been found to decrease the number of stress-related medical care issues and help provide patients with better coping skills for dealing with the problems they are facing, whether mental health care is accompanied by treatment with medications or not. Mental health care includes assessments, education, and solution-focused/cognitive mental interventions. There is a heavy reliance on motivational interviewing and stages of change when providing these interventions.

NorthShore Health Centers has several licensed clinical social workers who work closely with a board-certified Psychiatrist to provide these Mental Health Services.