Handling stress, relating to others, making healthy choices, our thinking, feeling and acting are all affected by our mental health throughout every stage of our life. Often behavioral health and mental health are used interchangeably. Our overall health and well-being are important to our mental health and this includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. According to Mental Health in America reports nearly 50 million adults in the United State experienced a mental illness in 2019.
Just like physical health, behavioral health has trained providers, therapists, who can help you much like a physical health care provider would. Therapy uses skills and talents one already possesses and building upon these skills and talents to become better equipped to take care of ourselves and others.
The Behavioral Health program at the Lansing Area AIDS Network provides mental health services to the Greater Lansing community which includes 9 counties: Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kalamazoo, and Shiawassee. Our team of therapists specialize in serving clients with marginalized identities, including but not limited to LGBTQIA community, people living with HIV and their care takers. We provide services that address the unique needs of each client we serve.
Behavioral health provides weekly, out-patient therapy to clients with mild to-moderate mental health concerns, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, exploration of sexual orientation, gender identity, and other identities, living with HIV and other chronic illnesses, and more. We offer short term and long term therapy along with skills building. Assessments and referrals to other local services are available for clients with more intensive needs that can’t be met in LAAN’s behavioral health services.
At this time, neither psychiatric services nor prescribing medication are available at LAAN. However, there are community based psychiatrists that clients can see to obtain behavioral health medication support, if appropriate.
This answer depends on your insurance company. We recommend calling the customer service number on your health insurance card and ask about your if your mental health benefits coverage before setting your first appointment. Each insurance company and the plan you hold has different copay amounts for mental health services and some plans have deductibles. Some insurance companies limit the number of sessions they will cover in a year. Other insurance companies require pre-approval for therapy, or a referral from your primary care doctor.
Therapy appointments are tailored to each individual. Once assigned to a therapist, you will set up your appointment directly with your therapist. You and your therapist will find what appointments are most convenient for you during our normal agency hours. Most new clients begin with 1 hour of therapy weekly to build the therapeutic relationship with the therapist and when you and your therapist agree, then keep weekly or move to biweekly that best fits your therapeutic goals and needs.
All of our therapy services are evidence-based and trauma informed. Other services provided during therapy will be client biopsychosocial education, mindfulness medication, learning coping skills and increasing distress tolerance.
LAAN provides gender affirming therapy. Trans and nonbinary clients who are wishing to access supportive letters which are required by their health insurance plans in order to obtain medically necessary gender affirming surgeries and/or to cover the cost of hormone therapy will be provided by attending gender affirming therapy sessions in aims to reduce these barriers.
For Current LAAN Clients:
If you are receiving other services at our organization, your case manager can refer you to behavioral health services. Once the referral has been received a behavioral health staff will be reaching out to you.
For New Behavioral Health Clients:
If you are new to our organization, please reach out via our website contact form or call the main line to inquire about behavior health services. Both the contact form and voicemail on the main agency line are secure and confidential. Leave a message with your name and callback number, along with your health insurance plan. A behavioral health staff member will return your call to confirm eligibility, and to schedule you for an assessment if you meet eligibility requirements.
Call or Text us at 517-614-5230
