Older Adults

RiverWoods Behavioral Health System's Supportive Care Unit provides short-term crisis stabilization usually lasting approximately 10 days for patients that are 65 and older. Our safe and secure unit offers an environment where patients and their families can gain peace of mind knowing that quality care and individual attention will be priorities during the treatment process. RiverWoods Behavioral Health System realizes that many of the patients in need of geriatric care may have problems with mobility and completion of everyday living activities which is why we offer a higher staff to patient ratio on the unit to provide assistance for you or your loved one. Patients will learn to cope with the challenges and stressors that aging can bring while also receiving treatment for specific mental health disorders or addictive diseases. All patients will receive individual and group therapy with a licensed therapist while under the medical treatment and direction of a psychiatrist.


Our social service staff members recognize that our senior patients are most often a part of a family structure and these families are typically very involved in the treatment process of their loved one. We strongly encourage family therapy sessions with each patient and their family to provide education, information on course of treatment, on-going resources, and discharge planning for long-term treatment direction. The geriatric unit is designed to accommodate patients with minor medical issues, mobility issues, and/or oxygen tanks. The unit is not equipped to handle patients long-term with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, unless the patient presents with a co-occurring mental health diagnosis and could see improvement from short-term stabilization. Some of the groups that are offered to our geriatric patients are as follows: