Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Our mission of caring, healing, teaching and serving all includes caring for your mental and emotional well-being. If you or a loved one is struggling to cope with daily life, we’re here for you. If you need help recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, we can help. At AHS, you will find caring experts to give you the tools you need.

The Psychiatry Department at Alameda Health System, under the direction of Psychiatry Chair (interim), Tanuj Siddhartha, MD and John George Psychiatric Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Patty Espeseth, LMFT, encompasses a complete continuum of mental health care within the medical center system of care. The department conducts clinical, consultation, educational and research activities at all of the Alameda Health System four hospitals, three rehabilitation facilities, four primary care clinics and four emergency departments. The department’s mission is to provide the best comprehensive, culturally sensitive and trauma informed psychiatric and behavioral health services for adults and children suffering with mental illness in Alameda County regardless of their ability to pay and be the premier center for mental health care in the East Bay.

There are several inpatient and outpatient programs that make up the department: 24 hour Walk-in Urgent/Crisis Service at John George Hospital, Psychiatric Emergency Services, John George Psychiatric Hospital Inpatient Services, Forensic Psychiatry, Medical/Psychiatric Services, Adult and Child Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Service, the Outpatient Behavioral Health Services Programs, Integrated Behavioral Health Services at Ambulatory Primary Care Wellness Centers, Residency (planned) , Internship and Fellowship Training and Research in Psychiatry.

Our goal is to compassionately treat people suffering with mental illness as well as promote recovery, well-being and resilience. The department also has the goal to integrate behavioral health services with all primary care and department of medicine sites throughout the health system hospitals and clinics. The department has over 450 staff including 20 full-time and 30 part-time psychiatrists as well as 8 full-time and 6 part-time psychologists. 20 community psychologists serve as volunteer clinical faculty members for the psychology training program.

Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) services are provided at all Alameda Health System Primary Care Clinics. We collaborate with other members of your health care team to ensure all elements of your wellbeing are addressed, including emotional and psychological health. For more information on adult and pediatric services, click here.

Our team treats patients with social, emotional, and health challenges. If you have faced sexual assault, domestic violence, grief or other issues, we can help.

Highland Hospital
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-437-4688

Hayward Wellness
664 Southland Mall Dr.
Hayward, CA 94545
Driving Directions
510-266-1700

Newark Wellness
6066 Civic Terrace Ave.
Newark, CA 94560
Driving Directions
510-505-1600

The Outpatient Behavioral Health Services at Fairmont and Highland Campus provide partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), outpatient clinic services, consultation/assessment and psychopharmacological services for adults, older adults, children, adolescents and families of AHS and Alameda County.

Services are provided for a wide range of mental illnesses, eg, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety, personality disorders, PTSD and trauma, ADHD and developmental disorders, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, suicide, parenting/family/couples problems and mental health issues associated with medical illness and aging.

The program provides evidence-based treatment including individual, couples, group and family therapy as well as psychological assessment and medication evaluations for the underserved as well as special populations including racial, ethnic and sexual minorities. The goal of the program is to deliver the highest quality, culturally sensitive, trauma informed and compassionate family-centered care to all county residents.

Behavioral health services are also provided via the Integrated Behavioral Health Services at Ambulatory Primary Care Wellness Centers at Highland, Eastmont, Hayward and Newark. Here, social workers, psychologists and students provide evaluations, assessments, short-term counseling and referrals for patients referred from AHS primary and specialty care services.

For More Information On PHP and IOP Services

Highland Hospital
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-535-7776 (North County – Outpatient Behavior Health Services)

John George Psychiatric Hospital 
2060 Fairmont Dr.
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-346-1300

Fairmont Rehabilitation and Wellness
15400 Foothill Blvd
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-895-4369 (South County – Outpatient Behavior Health Services)

Hayward Wellness
664 Southland Mall Dr.
Hayward, CA 94545
Driving Directions
510-266-1700

Highland Wellness
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-437-5039

John George Psychiatric Hospital (JGPH), located in San Leandro, California and administered by the department of psychiatry, is part of Alameda Health System (AHS), a major public health care provider recognized as a world-class patient and family centered system of care and affiliated with the UCSF School of Medicine. JGPH provides psychiatric emergency and acute care services to adults experiencing severe and disabling mental illnesses and treats all who seek care regardless of their economic or social status.

JGPH uses a multi-disciplinary team approach to diagnose and treat patients with acute psychiatric illnesses. The hospital is a leader in the use of evidence-based medicine and data analytics to formulate effective care decisions. The treatment and management of psychiatric care at JGPH is nationally recognized as a best practice and is a model for other programs across the country.

SERVICES

Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Services

JGPH houses several inpatient units for both involuntary and voluntary patients who have an acute psychiatric illness. Treatments include medication, psychotherapy, milieu therapy, group therapy, occupational therapy and activity therapy. Other services include the Peer Mentor Program, chaplain services, pet therapy and community recovery support. All patients are referred to the appropriate level of care upon discharge.

Psychiatric Emergency Services

Psychiatric Emergency Services provides psychiatric evaluation, intervention and referral for voluntary and involuntary patients around the clock every day of the week. You can go to John George for walk-in, in-person support if you are in immediate crisis. Crisis intervention and urgent medication assessments are provided by qualified, multidisciplinary teams of mental health professionals.

Psychiatric Consultation

JGPH psychiatrists provide 5150 (psychiatric hold) clearance, medication evaluation/consultation and referral to appropriate mental health agencies on the Highland and Fairmont campuses, system rehabilitation facilities, system emergency departments at Highland, Alameda and San Leandro Hospitals as well as at the Alameda Health System Primary Care Wellness Centers.

Outpatient Behavioral Health Services

The psychiatry department oversees the Outpatient Behavioral Health Services that are located at Highland Hospital Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic, B Wing second floor and Fairmont Hospital Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic, C Building second floor. These programs encompass partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient day treatment services as well as outpatient clinic services. Medication monitoring, evaluation and consultation are provided by staff psychiatrists.

Integrated Behavioral Health Services at Ambulatory Primary Care Wellness Centers at Highland, Eastmont, Hayward and Newark also provides outpatient behavioral health services and operates a psychology counseling clinic at Highland Hospital. Evaluations, assessments, short-term group and individual therapy and referrals are provided for primary and specialty care referrals.

John George Psychiatric Hospital 
2060 Fairmont Dr.
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-346-1300

Psychology services are provided at AHS in a number of departments – Psychiatry Inpatient and Outpatient Behavioral Health Services, Integrated Behavioral Health Services at Ambulatory primary care wellness centers, the Pain Clinic and Medical Staff Office to name a few. Psychologists provide counseling and assessment services at AHS as well as teaching and supervision of psychology students. The Psychology Service also operates a student run outpatient psychology clinic at Highland Hospital to provide counseling services for AHS patients.

The Psychology Service provides supervised clinical training experiences for psychology graduate students for the practicum level, pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship. Our psychology training program is a member of the Bay Area Practicum Information Collaborative (BAPIC) and approved by the California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC).

The Clinical Psychology Training Program, directed by Karen Wise, PsyD, follows the practitioner-scholar model and provides psychology practicum trainees, pre-doctoral interns and post-doctoral fellows with varied supervised clinical experiences with adults and children in outpatient, inpatient, rehabilitation and primary care departments at AHS with the goal to gain entry level to advanced competence in clinical psychology.

For more information on psychology training at AHS please see below for residencies, internships and fellowships.

Highland Hospital
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-535-7776

John George Psychiatric Hospital 
2060 Fairmont Dr.
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-346-1300

Fairmont Rehabilitation and Wellness
15400 Foothill Blvd
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-895-4369

Hayward Wellness
664 Southland Mall Dr.
Hayward, CA 94545
Driving Directions
510-266-1700

Highland Wellness
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-437-5039

Eastmont Wellness
6955 Foothill Blvd. #200
Eastmont Mall Shopping Center
Oakland, CA 94605
Driving Directions
510-567-5700

Newark Wellness
6066 Civic Terrace Ave.
Newark, CA 94560
Driving Directions
510-505-1600

Our team helps you cope with social, emotional, and health problems. We also give you community service referrals and offer special chaplain counseling for all faiths and beliefs.

Highland Hospital
1411 E. 31st St.
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-437-4800

San Leandro Hospital
13855 E. 14th St.
San Leandro, CA 94578
Driving Directions
510-357-6500

Alameda Hospital
2070 Clinton Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
Driving Directions
510-522-3700

We help patients from all walks of life cope with alcohol and drug addiction while using the newest recovery methods. Our substance abuse program is based at Highland Hospital. Our program includes special care for pregnant women and new mothers.

Highland Hospital
1411 E. 31st St.
OA Wing, 1st floor
Oakland, CA 94602
Driving Directions
510-437-5192

Eastmont Wellness
6955 Foothill Blvd. #200
Eastmont Mall Shopping Center
Oakland, CA 94605
Driving Directions
510-567-5700

Hayward Wellness
664 Southland Mall Dr.
Hayward, CA 94545
Driving Directions
510-266-1700