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Mental & Behavioral Health 

Comprehensive psychiatry for mental health and addiction concerns. 

At MUSC Health, our behavioral health services provide compassionate care for people dealing with mental health and addiction concerns. We’ll help you understand your condition and create a custom treatment plan for you.  If you are experiencing a medical or behavioral health emergency, please go immediately to your nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1. 

 

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The Institute of Psychiatry

The Institute of Psychiatry is conveniently located in downtown Charleston at 67 President Street (on the corner of President and Doughty Streets). Patient and visitor parking is available in the Jonathan Lucas Street Garage, at 97 Jonathan Lucas Street. Services are also offered at several satellite offices throughout the area.

MUSC Health Jean and Hugh K. Leatherman Behavioral Care Pavilion

Address
Leatherman Behavioral Care Pavilion
121 East Cedar Street
Florence, SC 29506
Hours
Specialties
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatry - Bio-Behavioral Medicine
Contact
call(843) 629-6800 Schedule an Appointment

Charleston Center

Address
5 Charleston Center Drive
Charleston, SC 29425
Hours
Specialties
  • Psychology
Contact
call(843) 792-9383 Schedule an Appointment
More Locations

Mental Health Programs and Clinics

Mental health encompasses conditions that impact our emotional and psychological well-being. Your mental health can negatively impact your physical and cognitive functions. At MUSC Health, we offer a variety of specialized mental health programs and clinics to treat a broad spectrum of concerns, including:

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Mood Disorders
  • Thought Disorders
  • Other Mental Health Disorders

Mental Health Conditions Treated at MUSC Health

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of behavioral health disorders, affecting up to 30% of adults at some point in their lives. Identified anxiety disorders include: separation anxiety, selective mutism, specific phobia, social anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), agoraphobia, substance and medication-induced anxiety, anxiety disorder secondary to other medical conditions, or unspecified anxiety disorders. Find out how MUSC Health can treat specific anxiety disorders below.

While low levels of anxiety are a normal reaction to everyday stresses, people with anxiety disorders feel extreme reactions that impact their ability to function normally. Some of the symptoms can include: 

  • Chest pain 
  • Chills or hot flashes 
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness 
  • Choking sensation 
  • Feeling detachment 
  • Heart palpitations 
  • Nausea or abdominal pain 
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Trembling or shaking 

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage anxiety disorders, such as: 

More than typical day-to-day stress, people with generalized anxiety disorder experience high levels of anxiety that may prevent them from participating in daily life. For some people, generalized anxiety disorder occurs alongside other mental health disorders. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder may include: 

  • Being easily startled 
  • Diarrhea 
  • Disproportionate worry or concern  
  • Extreme tiredness or fatigue 
  • Fear of making wrong decisions 
  • Irritability 
  • Muscle aches or muscle tension 
  • Nausea 
  • Overthinking plans and solutions for worst-case scenarios  
  • Thinking all situations are threatening, even when they aren’t 
  • Profuse sweating 
  • Trouble concentrating 
  • Trouble dealing with uncertainty 
  • Trouble sleeping  

MUSC Health has treatment options to help manage generalized anxiety disorder, such as: 

Most people feel nervous in certain situations from time to time. However, people with social anxiety disorder feel such heightened anxiety that they can’t function in certain social situations. People with social phobia may become self-conscious and embarrassed because of their fears. Symptoms of this disorder can include:  

  • Analyzing your own performance after a social situation 
  • Avoiding situations in which you may be judged negatively 
  • Avoiding situations in which you may be the center of attention 
  • Expecting the worst possible outcome from a negative experience in a social setting 
  • Intense fear of speaking to strangers 
  • Worrying about embarrassing yourself 
  • Worrying that other people will know you’re anxious 

MUSC Health has treatment options to help manage social phobia at: 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that’s caused by having gone through a terrifying event. This event may have happened to you directly, or you may have witnessed the event. PTSD symptoms can include: 

  • Avoiding people, activities, or places that are connected to the traumatic event 
  • Feeling emotionally numb 
  • Becoming easily frightened 
  • Feeling detached from family and friends 
  • Feeling hopeless about your future 
  • Flashbacks about the traumatic event 
  • Memory problems 
  • Negative feelings about the world, other people, and yourself 
  • Nightmares about the traumatic event 
  • Problems sleeping or concentrating 
  • Recurrent, obtrusive thoughts about the traumatic event 
  • Trying to avoid talking or thinking about the traumatic event 

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage PTSD, such as: 

Panic attacks are sudden episodes of intense fear when there is no real cause or danger. They can be very frightening to the person having the panic attack. Some people only have one or two panic attacks in their lifetime, but others have recurrent panic attacks. In this case, the person has a panic disorder. Symptoms of a panic attack may include:  

  • Chills 
  • Chest pain 
  • Dizziness or fainting (syncope) 
  • Fear of death 
  • Feeling detached from reality 
  • Headaches 
  • Hot flashes 
  • Feeling a loss of control 
  • Nausea 
  • Rapid heart rate or heart palpitations 
  • Sense of danger or impending doom 
  • Shaking 
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Sweating  

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage panic disorder, such as: 

People with a mood disorder have emotional states that are inconsistent with their circumstances. These disorders can affect a person’s ability to function normally in their daily life. Typical mood disorders can include: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, mood disorder secondary to substance use disorder, or unspecified mood disorders. Find out how MUSC Health can treat specific mood disorders below.

Mood disorders affect a person’s emotional state for prolonged periods. Depending on the type of mood disorder, symptoms can include: 

  • Depression, feelings of extreme sadness or hopelessness 
  • Irritability or angry outbursts 
  • Manic energy or decreased need for sleep 
  • Mood swings 
  • Withdrawal from social situations, interests, or hobbies  

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage mood disorders, such as: 

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a person to feel ongoing sadness and/or a loss of interest in everyday life and relationships. Sufferers have trouble completing day-to-day tasks and may feel like their life isn’t worth living. Symptoms of depression may include: 

  • Anger 
  • Frustration or irritability 
  • Changes in appetite  
  • Changes in body weight 
  • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions 
  • Difficulty remembering things 
  • Feelings of emptiness 
  • Feelings of sadness 
  • Low energy or fatigue 
  • Loss of interest in hobbies or relationships 
  • Thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior 
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much  
  • Unexplainable physical ailments, such as headaches or back pain 

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage depression, such as: 

Bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic-depressive illness) causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy and activity levels, and concentration. The person typically experiences alternating periods of high energy – known as manic episodes – followed by periods of low energy – known as depressive episodes. Some people experience manic and depressive symptoms at the same time (mixed episodes). Symptoms of bipolar disorder can include:  

  • Elevated mood 
  • Thoughts of running fast 
  • An increased or reduced appetite for drinking, eating, sex, or other activities 
  • Being more active than usual 
  • Extreme irritability 
  • Feeling jumpy or wired 
  • Feeling more talented or powerful than usual 
  • Feeling very sad, worthless, or suicidal 
  • Talking faster or slower than usual 
  • Trouble focusing, concentrating, or making decisions 
  • Unusual sleep patterns, trouble falling asleep or staying asleep  

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage bipolar disorder, such as: 

Mental health disorders that affect the cognitive abilities to think and speak in an organized way are called thought disorders or TD. Thought disorders include conditions like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and catatonia. Find out how MUSC Health can treat specific thought disorders below.

People with schizophrenia have trouble adequately interpreting reality. They can have trouble going about their daily life and will likely need lifelong treatment. Symptoms of schizophrenia can include: 

  • Delusions (fixed false beliefs) 
  • Hallucinations 
  • Lack of eye contact 
  • Problems with personal hygiene 
  • Being socially withdrawn 
  • Trouble completing simple tasks 
  • Trouble effectively communicating or disorganized speech 
  • Useless or excessive movements 

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage schizophrenia, such as: 

People with schizoaffective disorder have a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms. There are two types of schizoaffective disorder: bipolar type and depressive type. People with bipolar type experience episodes of mania and, in some cases, major depression. People with depressive type only have major depressive episodes. Symptoms of schizoaffective disorder can include: 

  • Delusions (fixed false beliefs) 
  • Depression, feeling worthless and sad 
  • Difficulty communicating 
  • Hallucinations 
  • Periods of mania, or increased energy and decreased need for sleep 
  • Struggling with personal hygiene 
  • Trouble with work or school 
  • Unusual or bizarre behavior 

MUSC Health has treatment options to help manage schizoaffective disorder, such as: 

Catatonia is a mental health condition caused by both psychiatric and medical conditions, that presents with specific physical symptoms and signs as listed below. About 10% of people with mental health disorders will experience catatonia at least once in their lives.Catatonia symptoms can include:  

  • Agitation Impersonating someone else’s movements or speech 
  • Holding your body in an odd position
  • Making unusual or repetitive movements 
  • Not responding to other people or certain situations 
  • Not talking 
  • Resisting people who touch your body 

MUSC Health offers treatment options to help manage catatonia, such as: 

Neuro-cognitive disorders are disorders of cognition related to brain diseases. Previously called Dementias, the most common causes of neuro-cognitive disorders include Alzheimer’s, brain injury or trauma, Lewy Body, vascular, Fronto-temporal, and others. Symptoms of neuro-cognitive disorders can include:

  • Loss of memory, typically short-term memory 
  • Episodes of confusion 
  • Agitation 
  • Progressive worsening of the symptoms  

MUSC Health has treatment options to help manage neuro-cognitive disorders, such as: 

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) causes a person to have a pattern of unwanted or intrusive thoughts and fears (obsessions). These obsessions cause the person to perform repetitive behaviors (compulsions) which can impact the person’s ability to go about their daily life. While symptoms vary from person to person, OCD symptoms may include: Obsessions with:  

  • Cleanliness, or a fear of being dirty or contaminated 
  • Safety, checking locks 
  • Trouble dealing with uncertainty 
  • Troubling thoughts about harming others, or thoughts of self-harm 
  • Unwanted aggressive thoughts 

Compulsions to:  

  • Check things 
  • Count things 
  • Demand reassurance in all situations 
  • Follow a strict routine 
  • Put things in order 
  • Wash or clean repetitively 

MUSC Health has a variety of treatment options to help manage depression, such as: 

Eating disorders are affect both your mental and physical health. People with eating disorders struggle with how they think about food, eating, eating behaviors, their weight and image. Symptoms of an eating disorder can include: 

  • Avoidance of certain food groups 
  • Eating unusually large amounts of food (binge eating) 
  • Exercising excessively 
  • Feelings of worthlessness and severe self-judgment
  • Eating secretively or hiding food 
  • Severely restricting calorie intake 
  • Vomiting after eating 
  • Withdrawing from usual social events, especially events involving food 

MUSC Health offers treatment to manage eating disorders, such as: 

Having thoughts of taking your own life can be a reaction to stressful life situations. It’s important to know the signs of suicidal ideations, so you can spot it in others and get them help. Symptoms of suicidality can include: 

  • Becoming socially withdrawn 
  • Changes in eating or sleeping patterns 
  • Engaging in risky behavior 
  • Extreme mood swings 
  • Feeling hopeless 
  • Obtaining the means to commit suicide, such as having a gun or a large amount of painkiller medications 
  • Personality changes 
  • Talking about suicide 
  • Using more alcohol or drugs than usual 

MUSC Health has treatment options to help manage suicidality, such as: 

 Borderline personality disorder is a mental health condition that affects the way you think about yourself and others. People with borderline personality disorder may experience self-image issues, problems managing their emotions and behaviors, and unstable relationships. Symptoms of borderline personality disorder can include: 

  • Extreme anger or violent outbursts 
  • Extreme mood swings 
  • Fear of abandonment
  •  Feelings of emptiness or hopelessness 
  • Impulsive or risky behavior 
  • Isolating yourself from loved ones for periods of time 
  • Patterns of unstable interpersonal relationships 
  • Quick changes in self-image or identity 
  • Self-injury or thoughts of suicide 
  • Shifting goals and values

MUSC Health offers treatment options to help manage borderline personality disorder, such as: 

Getting enough quality sleep each day is very important. People with sleep disorders have trouble getting to or staying asleep, sleep more than most people, or fall asleep suddenly during the day. Having a sleep disorder can affect all aspects of your life, including your health, performance at work and school, and interpersonal relationships. Depending on the type of sleep disorder, symptoms may include:  

  • Being very sleepy during the day 
  • Breathing that stops or pauses during sleep 
  • Falling asleep at inappropriate times, such as at work or while driving 
  • Having trouble falling asleep at night 
  • Having your days and nights mixed up 
  • Restless legs, or uncontrollable urges to move your legs during sleep or while falling asleep 

MUSC Health offers a variety of treatment options to help manage sleep disorders at:

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

If you’re experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, dial 9-8-8 immediately to speak with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Adult Mental Health Services

Over 26% of Americans ages 18 and older – about one in four adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. The Institute of Psychiatry provides care for a full range of psychiatric problems affecting adults. 

We offer the following adult outpatient services: 

Inpatient Services

For more acute or complex problems, the Institute of Psychiatry offers several inpatient settings and services.

The Acute Adult Psychiatric Unit (4 North) provides short-term acute crisis stabilization for a broad range of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, among others. The General Adult Psychiatric Unit (3 North) has a fixed therapeutic schedule, designed to engage patients in their own treatment, once stabilized.

These inpatient settings provide psychiatric evaluation, management of medicines, behavioral treatment, occupational therapy, recreation therapy, and patient and family education and planning for care after discharge.

Thorough evaluation is provided by a highly skilled, multidisciplinary treatment team, including the attending physician, as well as resident physicians, nurses, therapeutic assistants, and social workers. Group therapy is focused on pharmacotherapy, stress management, anger management, recreational and occupational therapy, and twice-daily community meetings.

All patients benefit from proven, evidence-based treatments and extensive physician time under close supervision by attending physicians.

Brain Stimulation Service

For mood disorders, including severe depression, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and cutting-edge brain stimulation therapies are available to inpatients if prescribed by the treatment team.

Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs

If patients are diagnosed with drug or alcohol dependency in addition to psychiatric disorders, addiction specialists from the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs (CDAP) department will join the treatment team.

The MUSC University Hospital

If needed, consultation for medical services is available next door at the University Hospital.

Admission Information

Visiting hours and what to bring

Contact Us

To schedule an outpatient appointment, call 843-792-9162.

To contact a patient via US Mail: Medical University of South Carolina, Patient's Name, Floor #, PO Box 250861, Charleston, SC 29425.

To contact a patient via telephone: 843-792-9888 or call the unit directly with the number provided to you. You must have a security code to speak with patients.

To refer a patient to the Institute of Psychiatry hospital, call 843-792-0500 or 800-922-5250.

The Access and Admission Team is comprised of nurses, Master's level counselors and licensed professional counselors (LPCs) who can provide phone assessments to help determine the most appropriate care. The team is available 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours and on holidays, calls are answered by the MUSC hospital operator. The operator conducts brief triage and transfers calls to the most appropriate personnel.

To schedule an outpatient appointment, call 843-792-9162.

For general information on any of our programs, call 843-792-9888. Please note, we cannot provide medical advice. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

To refer a patient to the Institute of Psychiatry hospital, call 843-792-0500 or 800-922-5250.

The Access and Admission Team is comprised of nurses, Master's level counselors and licensed professional counselors (LPCs) who can provide phone assessments to help determine the most appropriate care. The team is available 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours and on holidays, calls are answered by the MUSC hospital operator. The operator conducts brief triage and transfers calls to the most appropriate personnel.

To schedule an outpatient appointment, call 843-792-9162,

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