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Serenity Behavioral Health Patient Services

Serenity Behavioral Health Systems helps individuals of all ages who suffer from the many aspects of behavioral health and developmental disabilities. Our mission is to provide the highest quality care in a professional, responsive, and caring manner. If you or a loved one is conflicted by behavior health conditions, we have the professionals who can help them on the path to a healthier life. Contact us to find out more!

Our goal is to always make treatment accessible. We practice scheduled appointments for admission assessment, walk-in appointments through Open Access for adult services, scheduled appointments, and case management community assessments at designated locations with community partners.

Open Access Hours and Adult Services. All adult outpatient services include assessment and intake during our open access hours Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM– noon.

Open access includes an intake process to evaluate and enroll the individual into treatment including financial and insurance verification, health and treatment history, education and employment, and lawful presence documentation. We will also review an informed consent, rights and responsibilities, and privacy notice. A clinician will complete a biopsychosocial assessment to determine eligibility for treatment, appropriate services/level of care, and schedule the first treatment appointment. If the individual is not eligible for treatment services, we will provide referral to partnered agencies and providers.

Children and Adolescents. Access to services for youth including children and adolescents include a scheduled intake assessment through a member of our counseling and treatment team. Additionally, we receive referrals from local school districts, community partners, and other organizations. Please contact us at 706-432-4838 from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Monday – Friday to schedule an appointment for assessment and coordination of care for care from referral sources.

Community Support Services/P.A.T.H. (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness). Access to services for Community Support Services/P.A.T.H. are coordinated through Open Access to evaluate and enroll the individual into treatment including financial and insurance verification, health and treatment history, education and employment, and lawful presence documentation. We will also review an informed consent, rights and responsibilities, and privacy notice. A clinician will complete a biopsychosocial assessment to determine eligibility for treatment, appropriate services/level of care, and schedule the first treatment appointment. If the individual is not eligible for treatment services, we will provide referral to partnered agencies and providers.

Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) is funded through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD).

Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Admission for IDD services in Georgia are facilitated by the DBHDD Field Office for each DBHDD Region. We work collectively with the DBHDD Region 2 Field Office. We will assist you with coordinating your intake and evaluation with them.

Our philosophy is to respect the rights of every individual, to assist them to achieve abstinence from all mood-altering chemicals, and to improve quality of life by addressing any barriers to a full recovery. We use several evidence-based, therapeutic techniques to achieve this goal. These include motivational interviewing, the stages of changes model, the Matrix Model, 12-step facilitation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and solution-focused therapy. These methods, materials, and settings used are appropriate for developmental and cognitive levels, capabilities, ages, genders, and cultures of all participants.

Our Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) program provides a medically focused individual and group approach to opioid addiction and treatment. Based on eligibility this program may be free of charge including all individual/group counseling sessions, medical support, and prescriptions.
Our counselors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and psychiatrists work closely together to provide you with compassionate, effective, and therapeutic care. At each of our sites (Augusta campus, mobile clinics, and telehealth), you will meet a counselor who will work with you to complete a comprehensive assessment which will lead to the creation of your own individualized support plan. We offer individual and group counseling to help you on your journey. Our group support groups management, substance abuse, grief, and other areas as needed. In addition to group and individual therapy options we also have nurses, nurse practitioners, and psychiatrists to make up our medical team. You will find that each of our nurses works primarily with the same psychiatric service provider so that we are better able to provide you with individualized and specialized care that can be followed from visit to visit. With this pairing system in place, you will have access to your psychiatric provider via contact with your nurse between your visits with the nurse practitioner or psychiatrist.

We partner with Barney’s Pharmacy with a convenient onsite location at our Augusta campus to offer full access to medications immediately after your appointment or send your prescriptions to your preferred pharmacy via our escribe program.
Our trained staff and team of counselors are committed to working with children and families to overcome the challenges of living with mental health issues.

At each of our sites our children and adolescent counselors will work with you to develop skills to manage and overcome the many challenges related to daily life. Whether you are suffering from depression, substance abuse, or feeling like life is not worth living, we are ready to help.

Serenity also provides psychiatric services that include diagnostic evaluation, medication administration, and nursing services. For those who need a more intensive level of care, we have several resources that we can refer you to.

Lastly, to make mental health care even more accessible, we have partnered with several school districts to provide counseling in-school through the Georgia Apex Program. This program allows us to place a counselor in a school specified by the district to provide additional support providing critical support, counseling, and services for youth in need.
Developmental Disability Services in East Central Georgia In our Intellectual Developmental Disabilities programs here at Serenity, we provide services to individuals with disabilities ranging from intellectual impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and other closely related disorders which interfere with an individual functioning in the community. Eligibility for services is determined by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Regional Office. We provide services to individuals who have been awarded a Medicaid Comprehensive or NOW Waiver or State Contracted Services. We offer a variety of residential options in the community across the seven counties served by Region 2. We also offer Community Living Support and Community Residential Alternative services. These include private home care residential services, in which we provide staff to assist with families in their loved one’s home, or to assist individuals who live in a home or apartment they lease. We also offer Host Homes, in which an individual lives with a family and is integrated into their home. Community Living Arrangement is offered to individuals who wish to live on their own outside of the family home and need supports beyond only staff assistance. In both of our Community Living Support and Community Residential options, we assist with activities of daily living, accessing the community, helping with medical visits and follow ups, assisting with medication, financial support, and other home living activities. Family Support is also offered through Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services in the form of financial assistance to families for therapies, recreational activities, incontinence products, and a variety of other needs. Respite is offered to families who need assistance with a loved one throughout the month, so they can manage their own homes, while making sure their loved one is assisted during those times when they cannot always be present.

Admission for IDD services in Georgia are facilitated by the DBHDD Field Office for each DBHDD Region. You can visit their website at: Apply for DD Services | Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. We work collectively with the DBHDD Region 2 Field Office. We will assist you with coordinating your intake and evaluation with them.
  • Insurance documentation  
  • Financial status information (check stubs, W-2, most recent tax return, or proof of unemployment from the Department of Labor) 
  • State-issued Identification (Driver’s License, Identification Card, birth certificate, military ID, etc) 
  • Social Security number 
  • Bring previous clinical documents if they are available: hospital discharge papers, copies of previous clinical assessments or treatment notes, names, and contact information for previous providers. 
  • Bring all current medication bottles or a list of medications and dosages. 

Crisis Stabilization Unit

The Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is a 16-bed unit, with an average length of stay of 7-10 days. The CSU provides a medically monitored, short-term residential service, operated for the purpose of psychiatric stabilization and detoxification services. Specific services may include psychiatric/medical assessment, crisis assessment, support and intervention; medically monitored residential substance detoxification; medication administration, management, and monitoring; brief individual and group counseling; and linkage to other services as needed. For further information, please call 706-432-4800.

Georgia Crisis & Access Line

The Georgia Crisis & Access Line available 24/7 and 365 days a year – 1-800-715-4225
In the State of Georgia, Crisis Mental Health and addictive disease services are accessed by calling the BHL Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) toll-free number. In 2006, BHL began a unique collaboration with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (then the Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disability and Addictive Disease.). For the first time, individuals from across the state can call a single number for access to care or help in a crisis. The Georgia Crisis & Access Line is staffed with professional social workers and counselors 24 hours per day, every day. to assist those with urgent and emergency needs. Those callers who need more routine services are directly connected with the agency of their choice and given a scheduled appointment. Serenity BHS is a part of this statewide system. For more information about BHL: Behavioral Health Link (BHL)

Serenity Behavioral Health Systems Resources

This resource guide has been created for use by the citizens of the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) to include the Georgia counties of Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington, and Wilkes; and the South Carolina counties of Aiken, Edgefield, Allendale, Barnwell, and McCormick.
CSRA Resource Guide