A guide to behavioral and mental healthcare at Inova

Serious female counselor gestures while talking with Caucasian female client. The counselor is holding eyeglasses and a pen. They are discussing serious issues.

Not all mental health struggles look the same. Inova offers a full range of behavioral health services across Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, from routine check-ins with your primary care doctor all the way to emergency psychiatric care. Here’s a simple guide to help you or someone you love find the right…

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Three tools to tackle treatment-resistant depression, from an Inova psychiatrist

A middle age man sits on a sofa across from his therapist who is sitting in a chair, discuss and gestures as his speaks to her. Hopeful expression, Mental health and counseling concept.

Eric C. Alcera, MD, MBA, DFAPA, DAACAP, is the President of the Behavioral Health Service Line at Inova. He is double board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and adult psychiatry and has more than 20 years of experience in behavioral health. His particular specialties include pediatric psychopharmacology and the treatment of depression, anxiety and…

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Working with Inova Behavioral Health Services Advanced Practice Providers? Here’s What You Need to Know

Mary Fisher, DScN, APRNBC-FNP, LNP-CS/BH, JD, Interim APP Manager, Inova Behavioral Health Services, and Abigail Austill, PMHNP-BC, Behavioral Health APP Fellow, Inova Behavioral Health Services. At Inova Behavioral Health Services, advanced practice providers (APPs) are a key part of the multidisciplinary behavioral healthcare services team – and patients benefit from their perspectives and expertise. Behavioral…

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What to Know About Depression in Older Adults

Ahmed Sherif Abdel Meguid, MD, FRCPC, (pronouns: he/him) is a board-certified consultation-liaison psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist at Inova Behavioral Health Services. Note: Depression is not a normal part of aging. It is a treatable medical condition, and older adults are at increased risk of developing symptoms of depression (also called major depressive disorder, or MDD). If…

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How to Find Your Joy

Sonja Flood, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker. She serves as a Senior Director for Inova Behavioral Health Services. There are many terms for the sense of chronic, overarching stress so many of us are feeling these days: Existing, not living Languishing instead of flourishing Overwhelmed Numb The combination of major life challenges and…

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Men and Suicide: A Quiet Crisis

James Murphy, MD, MBA, LSSBB, is board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychiatry. He serves at the Division Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for Inova Behavioral Health Services. Who is at greatest risk of dying by suicide? The answer may surprise you. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, of the approximately…

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Dads and Depression: Raising Awareness

Tara Croan, LCSW, PMH-C, women’s behavioral health therapist, Inova Women’s Behavioral Health Services;  Sarah Orrison, LCSW, women’s behavioral health therapist, Inova Behavioral Health Services; and Rushi Vyas, MD, psychiatrist. When a couple welcomes a new baby into the family, everything changes. The parents tend to focus on the new baby’s needs and on the new…

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