Behavioral Health Services

Porter Adventist Hospital treats adults 18 and older. We do not currently have services for youth. We are happy to assess and connect youth with services.

We are the place to turn for help if someone needs assistance with any of the following mental health disorders:

• Suicidal/homicidal thoughts
• Self-harm behaviors
• Depression
• Anxiety/panic
• Trauma
• Severe stress
• Risk of relapse on drugs and/or alcohol
• Bipolar disorder
• Hearing voices/seeing things others can’t hear or see
• Adjustment disorder

We accept referrals from psychiatrists, physicians, clinicians, community agencies as well as self-referrals.

Professional referrals, please call the Intake Line 303-715-2300 and fax the following to 303-778-5661:

• Fact sheet
• Insurance
• Medication list
• Provider notes

When you call to schedule your appointment, you will speak with one of our expert Intake Specialists. They will ask you a few questions and schedule your appointment with a clinician.

When you arrive at Porter, you will be welcomed at our main registration desk on the ground floor prior to your appointment. The Assessment Center is located on the first floor (close to the cafeteria and gift shop). Please arrive 20 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. After completing some paperwork, you will be welcomed by your clinical expert.

You and your clinician will spend time creating a comprehensive picture of your situation and determine the best pathway for your journey to wellness. Please expect this process to take about 45 minutes to 2 hours. If services available at Porter are the best to meet your needs, your first appointment will be scheduled. If a different provider is a better option for you, we will get you connected to those services and scheduled for an appointment.

If your clinician determines admission to an acute level of care is indicated, our team will work closely with you during each step of the process to either admit you at Porter, to another hospital, a Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit or an Acute Treatment Unit.

Our team is comprised of experienced licensed, masters and doctoral-level mental health professionals. Our goal is to provide compassionate care and assist each patient with a comprehensive care plan. In many cases we can arrange intake into outpatient and inpatient programs for a seamless transition into the most appropriate program.

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare. The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

• Board certified psychiatrists who specialize in child, adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatry
• Masters educated and licensed psychotherapists, Masters of Public Health (MPH), Masters of Social Work (MSW)
• Masters Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)
• Certified Addiction Counselors (Level I, II and III)
• Registered Nurses

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare.

The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid  for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

Outpatient ECT services are appropriate for patients who have at least one reliable support person.

In particular, the patient must have:

• The ability to care for self at home.
• The ability to comply with the NPO restrictions prior to all treatments.
• Someone who can drive the patient to and from the hospital for treatment.
• A reliable adult who will stay with the patient until short-term memory is regained (if profound memory loss occurs during a treatment).
• No other medical complications or conditions that are contraindicated for this procedure.

Although ECT is often performed as an outpatient procedure, patients are candidates for an inpatient ECT series in some circumstances.

These include situations in which the patient:

• Is unable to complete the treatments due to safety issues
• Has a concurrent medical condition or complication that would make outpatient treatment unsafe

Before a patient is eligible for ECT services, two licensed psychiatrists must each render separate opinions that ECT would benefit the patient. This is mandatory under Colorado law.

At Porter Adventist Hospital ECT patients receive:

• The support of an acute care hospital with on-call specialists such as cardiologists and neurologists.
• Pre-ECT education for patients and their families conducted by a registered nurse from the ECT department.
• Coordination of all pre-ECT requirements including insurance authorization and utilization review.
• Completion of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) by the patient before and after the ECT series to monitor progress.
• Follow-up calls from a registered nurse to the patient after the ECT treatments.
• An unparalleled reputation in the community for compassion and care.

ECT is performed under general anesthesia by an anesthesiologist and a psychiatrist. The series is done on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday rotation for an average of 8-12 treatments. Subsequent maintenance ECT may be done weekly or monthly, based upon the particular needs of a patient.

Before a patient is eligible for ECT services, two licensed psychiatrists must each render separate opinions that ECT would benefit the patient. This is mandatory under Colorado law.

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare.

The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid  for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

DBT is based on Marsha Linehan’s biosocial theory of personality functioning in which these behavioral, emotional and thinking patterns (based on her work with Borderline Personality Disorders) are seen as stemming from a core problem with emotion regulation. According to this theory, the inability to regulate ones’ emotions is the result of both a biologically-based emotional sensitivity and a pervasively invalidating environment. From this perspective, self-harming behaviors function as maladaptive attempts at problem solving, where the primary problem to be solved is unbearable emotional distress.

• Increasing presence and self-awareness across situations.
• Distress Tolerance: Learning how to survive a difficult situation without making it worse.
• Emotional Regulation: Teaching skills that help client understand and experience their feelings in a less overwhelming way.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness: Helping client strengthen both personal and professional relationships and gain insight into their relational patterns and set healthy boundaries.

• Individuals who continue to experience high levels of chaos, emotional turmoil, or crisis situations which result in frequent hospitalizations or emergency room visits.
• Individual who are self-harming and/or have chronic suicidal ideation.
• Individuals with multiple, complex psychiatric disorders.

Clients are expected to attend group every week for six (6) weeks.

The DBT Team consists of Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) and/or Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC). Each clinician has completed the Foundational Training Course in DBT through Behavioral Tech, LLC or DBTNCAA.

The basic criteria for admission to this program include:

• Pervasive Emotion Dysregulation
• Moderate to Extreme Struggles with Interpersonal Relationships
• Extremely Low Frustration Tolerance
• Possess very Few Effective Coping Skills
• Tend to act in a Passive Aggressive or Aggressive Fashion Daily
• Recent History of Self-Harm
• History of In-Patient Behavioral Health Stays 

Plus: 

• Transportation to and from DBT-IOP
• Safe and stable housing to allow functioning in an outpatient setting 
• Take medication as prescribed (If applicable)
• Abstain from alcohol/drugs
• Cannot have a primary or co-occurring substance use disorder
• Agree to a safety plan
• Participate in the program 
• Able to benefit from treatment 
• Abstain from suicidal or para-suicidal behavior (self-harm)

Because this is essentially a group therapy program, all participants must be able to function as a member of a group without behaviors disruptive to the DBT Skills Group.

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare.

The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid  for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

• Discover, label, and learn to recognize feeling states
• Initiate a foundation for sober living
• Identify primary emotional "triggers"
• Develop a wide variety of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral coping skills
• Learn to employ and actively use appropriate coping skills in daily life
• Seek out possible relapse warning signs
• Construct a supportive recovery environment
• Create a personalized and applicable Relapse Prevention Plan
• Utilize and assist other group members constructively in the treatment experience

Clients are expected to attend group every week up to 12 weeks.

The Substance Use Intensive Outpatient Program is staffed by Licensed and Certified Clinicians with credentials in addictions and mental health.

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare.

The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid  for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

The IOP primarily serves people with mood and anxiety disorders  such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder.  The program also accepts participants with other disorders such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who are already stabilized on medication.

Additionally, on a case-by-case basis, the IOP is now accepting those with severe but stable medical problems (congestive heart failure, cancer, transplant, etc.) with a primary diagnosis of a mood disorder (and other parity diagnoses) and those with traumatic brain injury.

• IOP takes place daily, Monday-Friday. The program consists of a Goals Group, a DBT Group, and ends with a Coping Skill Group or CBT Group.
• The IOP runs a minimum of six weeks on a tapering schedule.  Some participants have a longer length of stay based upon symptom severity and medical necessity.  We do not do short-term admissions.

• Licensed, Board Certified Psychiatrists
• Licensed Professional Counselors
• Mental Health Counselors
• Licensed Advance Practice Nurse, Licensed Clinical Social Workers

We accept referrals from outpatient providers including psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and other mental health professionals. We also accept referrals from inpatient treatment sources and other facilities, in addition to serving referrals from within the Centura Health network.

The basic criteria for admission to this program include:

• “Significant” distress caused by worsening symptoms (severe depression, hypomania/mania, suicidal thoughts, impairment in thinking, etc.)
• “Significant” impairment in functioning (occupational, familial, social, activities of daily living, etc.) worse than baseline level of functioning
• Safe and stable housing to allow functioning in an outpatient setting

Plus the ability to:

• Take medication as prescribed
• Abstain from alcohol/drugs
• Follow Plan of Care
• Participate in the program
• Benefit from treatment
• Abstain from suicidal or para-suicidal behavior (self-harm)

Because this is essentially a group therapy program, all participants must be able to function as a member of a group without behaviors disruptive to the milieu.

The Centre for Behavioral Health is contracted with most major insurance plans including Medicare.

The Center for Behavioral Health does not accept Medicaid  for the following services:

• Outpatient Therapy
• Medication Management

Porter Adventist Hospital accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid for Adult and Senior Inpatient Acute Hospitalization and both Inpatient and Outpatient Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).