image: CSRPG session
Credit: Mount Sinai Health System
The Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth at Mount Sinai—a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in April 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to address its psychosocial impact on Mount Sinai Health System’s workforce—is now offering confidential behavioral health treatment services to New Yorkers generally.
A team of clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and licensed clinical social workers from the Center is now available to individuals 18 years and older who are interested in and could benefit from behavioral health treatment. Clinical services include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and medication management, all in a compassionate and supportive environment. These services are primarily geared for individuals navigating life adjustments, relationship challenges, depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma-related challenges.
“We are extending our services to the general public so we can take the discoveries we’ve made about health care worker resilience and behavioral health and apply that knowledge to help members of the public who could benefit from it,” said Jonathan M. DePierro, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Associate Director of the Center. “By using evidence-based strategies, we aim to help a wider swath of New Yorkers strengthen resilience, improve well-being, and navigate life’s challenges with confidence and growth.”
Over the past five years, the Center has grown into a nationally recognized program that is lauded for providing timely and highly effective preventive and treatment services to health care workers. The team has provided more than 18,000 behavioral health care visits to Mount Sinai faculty, staff, and trainees. These services have been highly successful in reducing anxiety and depression both during and after the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center has also provided more than 600 educational courses around mental health and resilience to Mount Sinai employees, including brief huddles in intensive care units and emergency departments.
“We launched the Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth in the height of the pandemic to support our health care workforce who were at the epicenter of the pandemic,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. “To our knowledge, this Center was the first of its kind in the United States to address the full spectrum of mental health presentations experienced by health care workers and would be a national model for others. We could not have anticipated the growing need in the community for these kinds of resilience and non-traditional mental health services and we are proud to respond with a solution that is proven to be effective.”
Drawing on the resources of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of the leading institutions in the field of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research, the Center has been collecting data and offering all participants opportunities to enroll in studies designed to better understand the particular mental health needs that have arisen from exposure to the pandemic. On average, the employees they serve report a 40 percent decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression, a 73 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms, and a 31 percent increase in well-being. Of those who screened positive for anxiety or depression at intake, more than 75 percent no longer screened positive for anxiety by their 14th visit. The treatment outcomes observed in the Center are comparable to those found in clinical treatment trials. These findings were published on February 14, 2024, in the American Journal of Public Health.
“During this time where people across the globe are experiencing record levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic symptoms, individual and community resilience has never been more necessary,” said Deborah Marin, MD, George and Marion Sokolik Blumenthal Professor of Psychiatry in the Icahn School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth. “We are thrilled to share our expertise, experience, and services to now help New Yorkers outside the Health System face challenges with resiliency, strength, and support.”
For more information or to make an appointment, please email MS-CSRPG@mountsinai.org or call 212-659-5564.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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