Emergency Psychiatry

Psychiatric emergencies and urgent mental health situations happen more frequently than expected. This may include panic or anxiety attacks to more serious mental breakdowns marked by irrational thinking and behavior.

Unlike physical conditions, the patient who is experiencing a psychiatric emergency may not report or seek medical care on his or her own. The condition of such a patient is usually noted by their families, friends, relatives, co-workers, medical personnel, or other people around them.

It is the awareness of these other parties that often result in the patient receiving medical psychiatric care. The emotional stress or mental breakdown might be severe enough to warrant involuntary admission of the patient to prevent harm to the patient or others.

Due to these concerns, state judicial and law enforcement systems have been authorized to assist in involuntary admission and treatment of patients who fail to recognize their own best interest in seeking medical psychiatric care.

The process of seeking emergency medical psychiatry and mental health treatment at Okaloosa Center begins by contacting emergency psychiatric services at 1-866-683-8040 for a primary evaluation. Based on this evaluation, a consultation with a psychiatrist may be arranged for further services. Such services could include medication management, therapy recommendations, referral for involuntary hospitalization, or voluntary admission to the hospital for further medical psychiatric care.