Compassionate psychiatric care
Our mental health specialists are here to offer you help and hope.
If you're dealing with a mental health condition, Portsmouth Regional Hospital provides treatment and support with inpatient and outpatient programs. You receive high-quality care through specialized therapy in a safe, nonjudgmental environment.
Mental health conditions we treat
We provide care that addresses many behavioral health concerns, including:
- Anxiety
- Behavior management issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Prenatal substance use
- Psychiatric disorders
- Substance use disorder
Our mental health services
We provide stabilization, therapy and skills training in our inpatient and outpatient mental health programs, designed to help you feel like yourself again.
Signs of depression
Depression is a serious mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness. It's more than just being upset or sad for a short period of time. Being depressed can feel like you're carrying a heavy burden, but you are not alone.
You may need to find professional help if you are experiencing the following:
- Chronic aches or symptoms not caused by a physical condition
- Decreased energy
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
- Loss of interest in usual activities, including sex and hobbies
- Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia and oversleeping
- Suicide attempts or thoughts of death
- Unexplained changes in appetite and weight
If you or someone you know is at risk for suicide, please call our crisis suicide prevention hotline at (603) 433-5270, option 1. Calls from outside of New Hampshire use (800) 273-8255 (TALK).
Inpatient mental health care program
Our behavioral health unit offers inpatient admission, involuntary emergency admission, an outpatient partial hospitalization program, 24/7 crisis and referral hotline and community programs.
We provide you with a secure and stable environment to assist you in regaining control of your life. We encourage you to make the most of your hospitalization by committing to:
- Assessing your current support network
- Assuming responsibility for your own recovery
- Attending groups and engaging with others for support
- Committing to making positive changes for self-improvement
- Creating a safety plan
- Establishing healthy eating, sleeping and self-care routines
- Focusing on solutions instead of problems
- Initiating aftercare planning with the help of your treatment team
- Reflecting on what makes your life meaningful
- Remaining accountable for addressing and keeping track of your needs
- Remaining realistically focused on your goals and thinking
- Using the support of staff for guidance and resource information
We believe you can't put a number on the length of time it takes to learn new ways to cope and recover. Our team works with your insurance carrier to advocate for the length of time you need.
Outpatient mental health care program
Our partial hospitalization program (PHP) offers an intense outpatient treatment setting if you are struggling with maintaining daily routines because of mental health issues.
We offer a convenient space devoted to your unique treatment needs. This program is a flexible treatment option if you need a gradual transition from inpatient psychiatric care. You may also benefit from more structure, but do not require inpatient treatment. The program also provides flexibility for providers to admit directly to the PHP.
Call (603) 758-1376 for more information about our PHP program. You can also schedule a PHP appointment online.
PHP eligibility
The programming includes group sessions at the core, but also offers special events and opportunities for you to practice self-sufficiency skills.
PHP is designed to help you if you:
- Are 18 years old and older
- Have recently had an inpatient psychiatric admission and need to transition to a structured support program
- May be experiencing behavioral or emotional difficulties
- May have symptoms of depression, anxiety or obstacles when functioning in everyday situations
- Need support to achieve stabilization
- Need to develop coping skills, learn to manage stress or require coaching for goal achievement
PHP programming
Our physician-led, interdisciplinary treatment team has developed a program that integrates approaches supported by the latest clinical research and practice.
In our PHP, you can expect:
- Art and music therapy
- Evidence-based recovery model
- Group, individual and family interventions
- Life skills practice opportunities
- Medication evaluation
- Patient-centered goal setting and treatment planning
- Psychiatric consultation
Patient resources
Please see the below sites for additional mental health resources:
Details about our inpatient program
Learn more about what you can and cannot bring to our inpatient program, as well as visiting hours and what you can expect from your stay.
What to expect in our program
First, you’ll meet with our admissions team to complete required paperwork and receive your identification band. Our staff checks your personal belongings, clothes and bags. Then, a staff member will conduct a unit tour and orient you to the procedures of the unit. Additionally, you’ll be provided with an admission folder to help you stay organized.
Room and board
Depending on the number of inpatients at a given time, you may share a room or have a room to yourself. In addition to a bed, nightstand and storage cubby, our patient rooms include a private bathroom with a toilet and shower. Common areas are available to you at non-group times and close at 11 p.m.
All linen and bedding will be provided by the hospital. The hospital also provides approved personal hygiene items, such as shampoo, soap or body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, combs and lotion. Our unit has its own washer and dryer for laundry when needed.
We have set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to your meals, we provide snacks, drinks and decaffeinated coffee. While you are unable to bring in your own food and beverages, we are able to provide many options and take into account any dietary concerns you may have.
Communication support
To enable effective communication with individuals and their companions who are deaf, hard of hearing or in need of an interpreter, we provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services free of charge. This includes providing:
- Assistive listening devices and systems
- Sign language and oral interpreters
- Telephone handset amplifiers
- Telephones compatible with hearing aids
- Text telephones
- Video remote interpreting services
- Written materials
We also can provide televisions with caption capability. Please notify your admission team upon arrival if you need assistance.
Visiting procedures
If you are admitted to our inpatient program, we ask you to wait 24 hours before having any visitors. This initial period is for the you to rest, meet the treatment team and begin the process of your stay. Visitors must be at least 18 years old.
Please understand that depending on each situation, our staff has the right to further restrict the amount of visitors. We know family and peer support is vital to recovery, and we encourage you to schedule a family meeting to discuss treatment prior to discharge. These meetings can occur outside of visiting hours.
Our visiting hours are Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 1:00pm to 2:00pm and 5:00pm to 6:30pm.
What to bring to inpatient care
Safety and comfort are important to us, as is the comfort and safety of the community within the unit. All items not allowed on the unit reflect items that present safety issues or could potentially cause a breach of privacy.
Necessary items
When staying in our inpatient unit, please bring:
- Jacket or sweater based on the weather
- Pajamas or nightgowns, without drawstrings
- Shoes or slippers that do not require laces and do not have buckles or other unsafe fixtures
- Three to four changes of casual, comfortable clothes (storage is limited)
Orthotics will be considered by a physician and ordered as appropriate to your safety.
Prohibited items
This is list of items you should not bring to our programs. It is not exhaustive, and our staff reserves the right to prohibit any items if there is a safety or therapeutic concern.
Please do not bring:
- Aerosol cans
- Belts and shoelaces
- Clothing depicting drugs, alcohol or violence
- Electronic devices, including cell phones
- Food and beverages from outside
- Glass and plastic items
- Make-up
- Matches and lighters
- Objects containing metal
- Personal hygiene items containing alcohol
- Sharp objects, such as nail clippers
- Weapons
We also do not recommend bringing items of high value. If possible, send valuable items home with friends or family members. If you do bring something important, valuable items can be locked on the unit in your lockers. Additionally, we can send items to the hospital safe. Any medication labeled in pharmacy containers will be sent to our pharmacy.
Devices and cell phones prohibited
Cellphones and other electronic devices are not permitted on the unit. You will have access to hospital telephones when group sessions are not in progress.
First, you’ll meet with our admissions team to complete required paperwork and receive your identification band. Our staff checks your personal belongings, clothes and bags. Then, a staff member will conduct a unit tour and orient you to the procedures of the unit. Additionally, you’ll be provided with an admission folder to help you stay organized.
Room and board
Depending on the number of inpatients at a given time, you may share a room or have a room to yourself. In addition to a bed, nightstand and storage cubby, our patient rooms include a private bathroom with a toilet and shower. Common areas are available to you at non-group times and close at 11 p.m.
All linen and bedding will be provided by the hospital. The hospital also provides approved personal hygiene items, such as shampoo, soap or body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, combs and lotion. Our unit has its own washer and dryer for laundry when needed.
We have set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to your meals, we provide snacks, drinks and decaffeinated coffee. While you are unable to bring in your own food and beverages, we are able to provide many options and take into account any dietary concerns you may have.
Communication support
To enable effective communication with individuals and their companions who are deaf, hard of hearing or in need of an interpreter, we provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services free of charge. This includes providing:
- Assistive listening devices and systems
- Sign language and oral interpreters
- Telephone handset amplifiers
- Telephones compatible with hearing aids
- Text telephones
- Video remote interpreting services
- Written materials
We also can provide televisions with caption capability. Please notify your admission team upon arrival if you need assistance.
Visiting procedures
If you are admitted to our inpatient program, we ask you to wait 24 hours before having any visitors. This initial period is for the you to rest, meet the treatment team and begin the process of your stay. Visitors must be at least 18 years old.
Please understand that depending on each situation, our staff has the right to further restrict the amount of visitors. We know family and peer support is vital to recovery, and we encourage you to schedule a family meeting to discuss treatment prior to discharge. These meetings can occur outside of visiting hours.
Our visiting hours are Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 1:00pm to 2:00pm and 5:00pm to 6:30pm.
Safety and comfort are important to us, as is the comfort and safety of the community within the unit. All items not allowed on the unit reflect items that present safety issues or could potentially cause a breach of privacy.
Necessary items
When staying in our inpatient unit, please bring:
- Jacket or sweater based on the weather
- Pajamas or nightgowns, without drawstrings
- Shoes or slippers that do not require laces and do not have buckles or other unsafe fixtures
- Three to four changes of casual, comfortable clothes (storage is limited)
Orthotics will be considered by a physician and ordered as appropriate to your safety.
Prohibited items
This is list of items you should not bring to our programs. It is not exhaustive, and our staff reserves the right to prohibit any items if there is a safety or therapeutic concern.
Please do not bring:
- Aerosol cans
- Belts and shoelaces
- Clothing depicting drugs, alcohol or violence
- Electronic devices, including cell phones
- Food and beverages from outside
- Glass and plastic items
- Make-up
- Matches and lighters
- Objects containing metal
- Personal hygiene items containing alcohol
- Sharp objects, such as nail clippers
- Weapons
We also do not recommend bringing items of high value. If possible, send valuable items home with friends or family members. If you do bring something important, valuable items can be locked on the unit in your lockers. Additionally, we can send items to the hospital safe. Any medication labeled in pharmacy containers will be sent to our pharmacy.
Devices and cell phones prohibited
Cellphones and other electronic devices are not permitted on the unit. You will have access to hospital telephones when group sessions are not in progress.