Page 9 - Silver Linings Issue4

Braun is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst with specialties working with children, adolescents and adults. He graduated from George Washington University with a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Casey Smith, M.D., also joined recently as Medical Director of the Argent Program. Smith is American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certified in psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. He graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The Argent Program team includes a psychiatrist, psychologist,
social worker, psychiatric technician, art therapist,
family therapist, chaplain and other professionals the team feels may be helpful in obtaining
that full picture.
The family therapy component has proven to be an important addition, Braun says.
“There is a significant family component to what’s going on with so many patients we see. It’s imperative to have family input,” Braun says. “Many patients are young adults and struggling with their emergence into adulthood. Leaving your family and becoming independent is a big stressor, often for both the patient and family.”
At the end of the program, patients receive a detailed report that culminates in a summary of diagnostic understanding from the Argent team
and recommendations on continued
treatment. Braun says the
experience at Silver Hill
is trans- formative and people leave the
Argent Program understanding themselves in a way they had never done previously. The report is a “document
of your life at
this moment in
time that goes
with you.”
Patients react in different ways when receiving a diagnosis following
the Argent
Program.
Braun says
many are
relieved
because they can “put a name to their suffering” and pinpoint the help they need. Others react in anger because it is not a diagnosis they want to hear. Almost all patients, however, are grateful.
“They hadn’t received this level of care in their lives,
and no
What’s it about?
The Argent Program includes but is not limited to:
Psychological (personality) and neuropsychological (cognitive) testing Psychiatric, medical, family and life history taking Self-assessment, including assessment of relationships Mid-program case conference
Specialist therapeutic sessions
Therapeutic and pharmacologic knowledge building Evaluation of family dynamics
Nutritional assessment
Spiritual assessment
Wellness services as well as fitness and recreational opportunities
Final presentation with expert findings and detailed treatment recommendations
one has paid attention to
their problems in this way before,”
he says. “They are feeling heard and listened to and understood in a new way. Even if they’re given an answer they don’t want, they are grateful that someone took the time to listen to them. People need answers, and those answers are not always easy to get to.”
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Philanthropic gifts allow Silver Hill Hospital to develop proactive, innovative programming like the Argent Program.
SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | ISSUE FOUR | 2022
Will Braun, Psy.D., Director of the Argent Program