EDINBURG, Texas - South Texas Health System Clinics has launched the STHS Clinics Mental Wellbeing Clinic, a new center in Edinburg offering behavioral health services for a variety of mental health conditions.
The group has done so in the hope of addressing some of the unmet mental healthcare needs of Rio Grande Valley residents, noting that Hidalgo County had only 4.61 mental health providers per every 100,000 people in 2022.
South Texas Health System Clinics is a multi-specialty branch of South Texas Health System with the mission of providing high-quality healthcare to residents of Rio Grande Valley. Established in 2012 as Valley Care Clinics, the brand has since grown from five clinics to 32. In February 2020, the name was changed to South Texas Health System Clinics to better align with its sister company, South Texas Health System.
Veronica Silva, practice administrator, STHS Clinics Mental Wellbeing Clinic, said the new facility is staffed with multiple mental health therapists, including licensed professional counselors. She said the clinic offers a comprehensive range of mental health services dedicated to nurturing the overall well-being of patients, including mental health evaluations, individual counseling for adults and children, family counseling, couples counseling and group therapy for adults.
"The STHS Clinics Mental Wellbeing Clinics was opened with our community needs in mind. We live in an area where access to mental health care services is limited,” Silva said. “Individuals and families need to know they are not alone as they work to improve their mental wellbeing through education, counseling and support services.”
Silva said the facility will focus on treating conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, grief and loss and more. The clinic’s expert-led team is committed to offering personalized care, tailored to meet the unique needs of patients on their journey to improving to their mental health, she explained.
“Our team of therapists is committed to offering care that addresses each individual's specific mental health concerns,” Silva said. “Our clinic serves as a beacon of hope to the entire Rio Grande Valley community as we work toward our mission to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health throughout the region while serving as a place where individuals can find the specialized support they need to improve their mental health."
Through treatment, the goal will be to help patients gain positive coping skills, learn to identify unhelpful thought patterns, learn healthy communication skills, discover how to establish positive social support networks and gain knowledge about mental health conditions, Silva said.
If a Valley resident would like to seek help for a mental health struggle, they can schedule an appointment at doctors.sthsclinics.com or by calling 956-515-2233, Silva said. For more information on the clinic, visit the STHS Clinics website, she said.
The STHS Clinics Mental Wellbeing Clinic is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and offers tele-therapy appointments.
