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Inpatient and Specialty Services | Western Psychiatric Hospital

Inpatient and Specialty Services

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and UPMC Western Behavioral Health

If you or a loved one suffers from a mental illness, we can help. UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital is a national leader in the treatment of mental health and addictive disorders. We offer a complete range of diagnostic and treatment services.


Mental Health Assessment and Diagnosis

Successful treatment begins with a complete and accurate mental health assessment by our trained specialists. Their diagnosis is used to create your recommended plan of care. Most assessments take place in our Psychiatric Emergency Services, located on the hospital’s fifth floor.


Mental Health Treatment

Based on your assessment, our doctors will recommend a program and treatment plan tailored to your specific needs.

Treatment is a joint effort between you, our staff, and people you wish to include in your care. Your treatment may include individual and group therapies, education, social work and case management services, and medications (if appropriate). Our Center for Interventional Psychiatry also offers specialized treatment options for hard-to-treat depression and other problems.

Inpatient care may be the best option if you have serious mental health symptoms that require intensive treatment. Most people evaluated at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital who require admission receive care onsite at the hospital. Stays can be as short as one night but can last longer based on your needs. The benefits of inpatient care include immediate connection to a treatment team. Your team will include a faculty psychiatrist from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, plus the added support of a psychiatric social worker, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and other hospital staff. Since UPMC Western Psychiatric is a major teaching hospital for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, your treatment team may include doctors-in-training and medical students.

Visiting hours for most inpatient units are very flexible and family sessions are available on request.


Your Behavioral Health Hospital Treatment Team

Some of the staff you may interact at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital include:

  • Psychiatrists — medical doctors who specialize the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness)
  • Psychiatric nurses
  • Social workers
  • Specialized therapists
  • Creative and expressive art therapists
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Physician assistants
  • Program directors and staff
  • Psychiatrists-in-training (residents) and medical students

Find a UPMC doctor for your treatment needs.


Our Inpatient Locations

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Inpatient Programs

Our inpatient units are tailored to meet specific patient needs and conditions needs. Located in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital offers treatment for a wide variety of conditions. With 263 inpatient beds, we are one of the largest academic psychiatric hospitals in the country with specialized units for both adults and children.

Our units include:

  • Integrated Health and Aging Program (IHAP) for older adults
  • Comprehensive Recovery Services for individuals with severe mental illness (such as psychosis)
  • Dual Diagnosis unit for individuals struggling with a combination of addiction and co-occurring mood or anxiety disorders
  • Inpatient Center for Eating Disorders for individuals struggling with anorexia or bulimia nervosa
  • General Adult Services units, primarily for mood and anxiety disorders
  • General Child and Adolescent unit, with children separated by age range
  • Adolescent Bipolar Assessment unit
  • Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders Inpatient Unit
  • Transitional and Comprehensive Recovery units for individuals receiving longer term inpatient care

Additional Inpatient Locations

  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at McKeesport
    Located in Pittsburgh’s McKeesport neighborhood, this inpatient behavioral health service offers care for adult and geriatric patients in both a short stay acute unit and an extended stay unit. Other services offered include a detoxification and rehabilitation unit providing addiction treatment for individuals who need medical management as part of their recovery. UPMC McKeesport also provides emergency services for mental health evaluation.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Mercy
    Located in the Uptown area of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy’s Emergency Department offers emergency behavioral health evaluations. In addition, there is an 18-bed detoxification unit at UPMC Mercy for individuals who need medical management as they withdraw from drugs or alcohol.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Northwest
    Located in Venango County, UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Northwest provides both short- and long-term treatment for behavioral health conditions. Its specialized behavioral health unit offers patients a safe and comfortable environment during treatment.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Somerset
    Located in Somerset, Pennsylvania, this site offers an acute inpatient unit and emergency services.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Chautauqua
    UPMC Chautauqua in Jamestown, New York, offers behavioral health services for adults and children. Its resources include a 20-bed acute inpatient unit for adults, a 10-bed acute inpatient unit for children and adolescents, and a 15-bed chemical dependency unit offering rehabilitation services. The hospital’s emergency department offers emergency behavioral health evaluations.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Susquehanna
    This 21-bed acute adult inpatient unit is located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on the UPMC Williamsport Divine Providence Campus. The hospital’s emergency department offers emergency behavioral health evaluations.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Altoona
    UPMC Altoona offers acute, adult inpatient beds. The hospital’s emergency department offers emergency behavioral health evaluations.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Western Maryland
    Located in Cumberland, Maryland, this hospital offers an acute adult inpatient unit. The hospital’s emergency department offers emergency behavioral health evaluations.

Specialty Mental Health Programs at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

Center for Interventional Psychiatry Services

The Center for Interventional Psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital provides personalized care and treatment for patients with difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorders. Our expert specialists use evidence-based intervention techniques to treat:

  • Hard-to-treat depression
  • Catatonia
  • Hard-to-treat mania
  • Hard-to-treat schizophrenia

Your individual case will be managed by one of six psychiatrists and will include experienced professionals during every step of treatment.


Psychiatric Consultation & Liaison Services

Our Psychiatric Consultation & Liaison (C&L) brings psychiatric care into UPMC’s medical hospitals. Our C & L team specializes in the diagnosis and management of patients with complex medical illness and psychiatric comorbidity. Our nurses, physicians, and clinicians are experts in how medical, neurological, and other conditions are affected by psychiatric disorders, the psychiatric effects of medical diagnoses and medications, and mental health management unique to acute inpatient units. Through our liaison role, we provide education and support to physicians, clinicians, and staff. Care is provided in both inpatient setting and integrated into specialty medical clinics.

If you are hospitalized with both complex physical and mental health problems, our expert C & L nurses, doctors, and clinicians can help diagnose and manage your care. Our C & L services may be provided through telepsychiatry in our community hospitals.


Psychiatry Services for Older Adults

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital provides behavioral health clinical services for older adults. We support residents of independent living, assisted living, personal care, and skilled nursing facilities throughout Allegheny County. These include the UPMC Senior Communities network as well as private facilities throughout the greater Pittsburgh area.

Our dedicated team of psychiatrists, certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs), and nurse clinical specialists provide older residents with best practice psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Its members also provide training and education for staff at senior living facilities and support families in therapeutic care. They help enhance care to improve the length and quality of life for older adults with chronic and severe mental illness living in long-term care facilities.


Creative and Expressive Art Therapy

The staff members of the Creative and Expressive Arts Therapies (CEAT) Department at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital are specially trained and certified in art therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapy, yoga therapy, and recreation therapy. For more than 50 years, CEAT has an integral part of the hospital’s programs.

CEAT therapies focus on enhancing a patient’s strengths and natural abilities to address problems. Patients with behavioral health concerns often find it hard describe what they are feeling or experiencing. CEAT helps them communicate and express themselves in creative forms. Its therapies also can be less threatening and easier to engage in other forms of psychotherapy. For this reason, CEAT’s services often are combined with more traditional forms of therapy at our hospital.


Patient and Visitor Guide

Download our Patient and Visitor Guide to learn more about what to expect upon arrival at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. For information on COVID-19 visitation guidelines, please review our policy.


Contact UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

For information or to schedule an appointment call 412-624-1000 or toll free 1-877-624-4100 or fill out our online form.