Verify Insurance
Call (844) 562-1212
Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility Logo

Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment in Los Angeles​

Psychiatric Care for Schizoaffective Disorder in Los Angeles

Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility specializes in treating individuals aged 18 and older. Our specialized team offers comprehensive acute psychiatric care tailored to manage complex symptoms of schizoaffective disorder and stabilize mental health crises. With compassionate, evidence-based treatment, we aim to empower individuals on their path to recovery in a safe and supportive environment.

Insurance and Payment Options

Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility accepts most major insurance providers, including Medicare and private insurance plans such as Aetna. We do not accept Medicaid. Our admissions team is available 24/7 to verify your plan’s benefits and help you take the next step. We also accept private pay.
Person writing in a notebook with a blue pen
Common area in behavioral health facility with round tables, molded safety chairs, mounted TV in protective casing, and calming pastel color scheme.

Our Long Beach Location

Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility is located in Long Beach, California, in Los Angeles County. Our location is also convenient for residents of Orange County and other parts of Southern California.

Understanding Schizoaffective Disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is a type of mental health disorder that has a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations and delusions) and mood disorder, like bipolar disorder, symptoms (depression, mania, and hypomania). A person with schizoaffective disorder may also experience trouble concentrating, changes in sleep or appetite, and social isolation.

A person with schizoaffective disorder will have dramatic changes in their moods, thoughts, and behaviors. The mental health condition will last throughout a person’s lifetime. A diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder is determined when a person has both psychotic and severe, persistent mood symptoms. Additionally, the symptoms of a psychotic disorder must occur for at least two weeks.
Person sitting on a grassy cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset, gazing at the horizon.

Common Signs of Schizoaffective Disorder

The symptoms of schizoaffective disorder are often the result of an overlap of the symptoms of depression, schizophrenia, and/or mania. 

The symptoms close to positive symptoms of schizophrenia are:
  • Hallucinations
  • Delusions
  • Disorganized thinking  or speech
  • Having unusual or confusing behaviors
  • Difficulty in relating to people
  • Loss of interest in self-care or maintenance
  • Symptoms that are similar to depression are:
  • Feelings of intense sadness that last more than two weeks
  • Loss of interest in people, places, or activities
  • Change in sleep or eating habits
  • Fatigue
  • Suicidal thoughts or thoughts of death
Symptoms of schizoaffective disorder that are similar to mania are:
  • Extreme energy levels
  • An intense, upbeat mood
  • Feeling unstoppable and that anything can be achieved
  • Racing thoughts
  • Need to talk constantly
  • Being distracted
  • Impulsive or risky behavior
  • Difficulty sleeping 

Take the First Step Toward Healing.

Our Team is ready to help you stabilize and heal.

When to Seek Professional Care

Overwhelming feelings linked to stress or traumatic events can disrupt an individual’s day-to-day routines. While it can be challenging to know if you or a loved one needs mental health crisis care, you can reach out to Ocean View, your mental health provider, or a doctor. It’s essential to seek help as soon as possible because early intervention with evidence-based treatment is crucial for developing positive coping and life skills that can lead to improved long-term outcomes. 

If you or a loved one is having thoughts of self-harm, violent behavior, suicidal thoughts, or attempting suicide, seek help immediately. Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility provides acute psychiatric mental health crisis stabilization when the symptoms of mental health disorders are uncontrollable. We use evidence-based treatments to guide patients’ clinical improvement and stabilization. 

Getting Started Is Easy

Step 1:
Contact a
Representative

Call to speak with an Ocean View representative. Alternatively, you can visit our website to chat or contact one of our admissions team members via email.

Step 2:
Verify
Insurance

When you speak with one of our admission team members, you will answer a few questions while they verify your insurance.

Step 3:
Schedule
Admission

Once your insurance is approved, we will determine if you require acute psychiatric care and schedule your admission. 

How Our Program Differs

We know you’re different from anyone else, so we offer acute mental health care that meets your unique needs. With Ocean View, you’ll experience stabilization-focused care that provides structure and support without stigma. Your input is essential as our medical and mental health staff build partnerships with your medical and behavioral health services, enabling a smooth transition from our care to your daily life. We do this through providing comprehensive mental health services that are accessible to everyone. 

  • On-site Team of Psychiatrists: Our on-site psychiatrists provide medication stabilization, monitoring, and management. Your well-being is vital throughout your stay in our inpatient mental health crisis facility and our outpatient services. 
  • Case Management & Aftercare Support: Case management begins when you’re admitted to either our inpatient or outpatient program. Our case managers and social workers ensure you have a safe place to go, whether that’s housing or a facility, once you leave us.
  • Transportation Coordination Provided: We offer transportation services coordinated with a trusted provider that takes you to and from inpatient intake, discharge destinations, as well as transportation to/from our on-site outpatient programs. *Transportation is provided to patients within a 50-mile radius
  • Stabilization for Managing Psychiatric Symptoms: Ocean View provides 24/7 inpatient psychiatric care. We also have outpatient treatment programs.
  • Patient Resource Network: Transitioning from inpatient or outpatient treatment can be overwhelming. That’s why we have an opt-in patient follow-up option. You don’t have to be alone in managing your symptoms.

Choosing the Right Program to Meet Your Acute Psychiatric Needs

Understanding the different levels of care available can help you make informed decisions about your mental health treatment. At Ocean View, we offer comprehensive options tailored to meet varying needs, from intensive inpatient programs to supportive outpatient services. Our goal is to provide the appropriate level of care to promote recovery and stability.

Inpatient Psychiatric Care

Individuals presenting with psychiatric symptoms can be admitted to Ocean View’s inpatient unit. Because mental health challenges present in a variety of ways, some of the criteria for admission include:

  • Insomnia, racing thoughts, impulsivity, rapid or pressured speech
  • Abnormal bouts of euphoric energy 
  • Reckless behavior or making decisions that affect an individual’s safety or well-being 
  • Inability to provide shelter, food, and safety as a result of mental impairment
  • Helplessness, hopelessness
  • Suicidal or homicidal ideations 
  • Psychosis 
  • Self-harming behaviors

Once you’re admitted, your team will develop a treatment plan that includes aftercare planning. Your treatment plan will be evaluated daily to reflect clinical improvement and make adjustments as needed.

Personalized Care

Ocean View’s inpatient program provides personalized, empathetic, comprehensive care. Our care team provides:

  • Licensed psychiatric care
  • 24/7 nursing and monitoring
  • 6 daily group sessions
  • Psychoeducational groups that focus on understanding mental health disorders and their symptoms
  • Therapeutic recreation to develop skills that help you find inner peace (art, painting, music, and animals/pets)
  • Coping skills development to help with symptom management and quieting negative thoughts or feelings
  • Patients are placed in groups based on the severity of their symptoms

Medication Stabilization

Medication management is a key part of our inpatient crisis stabilization, where medications are carefully reviewed and prescribed based on each individual’s medical history, needs, and potential side effects. If a patient is experiencing agitation or other symptoms, appropriate medications may be used to help manage these issues safely. Continuous monitoring allows our healthcare team to make adjustments as needed to ensure optimal care and safety throughout treatment.

Outpatient Levels of Care

Ocean View’s outpatient levels of care follow an inpatient stay or when symptoms aren’t acute enough to warrant hospitalization. Once your symptoms are evaluated, you will be admitted to either our partial hospitalization program (PHP) or intensive outpatient program (IOP). Both levels of care provide a safe, structured care that supports your symptom management.

Partial Hospitalization Program

Our PHP is a more structured level of care than our IOP. While here, you will engage in care that increases your coping skills and independence. The structured care includes:
  • Four group sessions a day that meet five days a week
  • Sessions that include a psychoeducational group led by a social worker and a therapeutic recreation support session led by a recreation therapist
  • Case management
  • Snacks and lunch

Intensive Outpatient Program

While our IOP is a structured level of care, we focus on providing the same secure, enjoyable, and compassionate care found in our inpatient and PHP levels of care. However, we also include:
  • Focused coping skills
  • Community reintegration

Continued Medication Management Support With Our PHP and IOP

After your acute psychosis symptoms and medication are stabilized, you will transition to a lower level of care, and you will receive medication management services. Both our PHP and IOP provide continued medication management under the care of our psychiatric team.
Nurse smiling with an elderly woman during a care visit

Aftercare & Opt-In Patient Follow-Up

Your aftercare plan isn’t developed as you approach returning to your life away from us. When you first create your treatment plan, you start planning your transition back into the real world. Our treatment team understands the importance of an individualized aftercare plan that addresses issues you face in the real world. Our personalized approach includes:

  • Case manager support
  • Outpatient transitions
  • Housing or facility placements
  • Community support referrals

Our Opt-In Patient Follow-Up (Patient Resource Network) continues to provide support and encouragement after you transition back into your life. 

Referral Information

Ocean View accepts referrals from doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. You will be actively involved in your patient’s care and treatment, allowing you to continue their psychiatric care with you. You can contact us anytime to learn about our services for mental health crises.
Nurse smiling alongside an older man enjoying a cup of tea

Moving Forward With Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment in Los Angeles

Our dedicated team is available 24/7 to answer your questions, assist with the intake process, and guide you towards the appropriate level of care. We are committed to making your transition as smooth and stress-free as possible.

FAQs

What causes schizoaffective disorder?

The causes of schizoaffective disorder aren’t known. Still, mental health professionals believe genetics, an imbalance in brain chemistry, a change in brain structure, and substance abuse can increase the risk of schizoaffective disorder.

Schizoaffective disorder can be diagnosed once your doctor or a mental health professional knows about your physical and mental health history. They can also make a better diagnosis if they know about your family’s and your mental health history. 

If you take medications or use substances, you should let your doctor or mental health professional know. Or if you have a history of substance abuse.  

Schizoaffective disorder is manageable with effective treatment. Medications, like antipsychotics and mood stabilizers, can decrease the risks of having psychotic episodes or mood disorder symptoms.

Helping a person with schizoaffective disorder includes:

  • Helping a person with schizoaffective disorder includes:
  • Encouraging or supporting them to get treatment
  • Go to appointments, activities, or new experiences to help them with anxiety
  • Keep in touch or take time to be with them regularly
  • Support them when they make decisions

The symptoms of schizoaffective disorder are different for everyone; however, some symptoms do get worse with age.

Most private and health insurance programs, such as Medicare, cover treatment for schizoaffective disorder. However, insurance coverage can vary. You can check with your insurance provider to see what they cover.

Yes, we recognize the vital role of family support in mental health recovery. While Ocean View provides short-term crisis stabilization, we also work to involve families through support groups and family education. Our goal is to help patients and their loved ones build a strong support system that promotes long-term healing and stability. Family participation is encouraged to foster positive outcomes and ongoing progress.

Yes. We welcome referrals from healthcare professionals who want to ensure their patients receive specialized psychiatric crisis care. Our team collaborates closely with referring providers to facilitate a seamless transition into our facility. We are dedicated to working with you to support your patients’ mental health needs efficiently and compassionately.

The symptoms of schizoaffective disorder fall into one of two categories. These types (categories) describe the primary mood disorder linked to schizoaffective disorder. The two types are:

  • Bipolar Type: With the bipolar type, you can have several days of extreme mania (highs) and several days of depression (lows). You may experience an increase in your energy levels, followed by irritability, and then a combination of decreased energy and sadness.
    Depressive Type: The combination of schizophrenia and depression symptoms is depressive schizoaffective disorder. This type of disorder means you only have the lows (depression), and completing daily routines can be challenging. Some may also feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
When negative symptoms of schizoaffective disorder become unmanageable, interventions like acute psychiatric crisis stabilization can address harmful psychotic symptoms and mood disturbances. 

Mental health professionals aren’t sure of the exact causes of schizoaffective disorder. Like certain mental health disorders, schizoaffective disorder can occur in family members. Your genescan increase the chances of being diagnosed. Other possible causes of schizoaffective disorder include:

  • An imbalance of chemicals: Certain chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine, serotonin, or norepinephrine, when imbalanced, can increase the risk of the disorder.
  • Brain structure: Any abnormalities or changes in your brain’s structure can cause this mental illness.
  • Substance use: Substances like LSD or other psychoactive drugs are linked to the development of schizoaffective disorder.

Despite the causes of schizoaffective disorder not being known, several risk factors are connected to the increased risk of being diagnosed with it. The risk factors associated with schizoaffective disorder include:

Genetics

  • A family history of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder places you at a higher risk
  • Gene mutations can affect your brain’s chemistry and neurotransmitter balance

Environmental Factors

  • Childhood abuse or trauma
  • Stressful events or circumstances, like moving or the death of a loved one
  • Substance use (alcohol or drugs)
  • Social isolation

Additional Risk Factors

  • Mental health conditions (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety)
  • Neurological disorders (dementia, traumatic brain injury)
  • Financial well-being
  • Developmental problems in early childhood

We would love to help.