LEWISTON — St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center’s day program for behavioral health has already helped dozens of people since it opened in April.

St. Mary’s received nearly $9 million in state funding last year to help keep its behavioral health unit afloat and start the day program.

Attending Psychiatrist Dr. Abhay Singh oversees patients in the day program, some of whom would likely otherwise be hospitalized in an emergency department or other psychiatric facility, he said. The program can serve most people, unless they pose an imminent threat of violence to others or are a threat to themselves.

When patients are first admitted into the program a full evaluation is done, along with a review of their medications, he said. Through group therapies of 10 people, the program teaches people how to manage their mental health.

Staff in the day program are also able to spend a lot of time with the patients, he said. Patients work on emotional distress management, harm reduction, how to live mindfully and other skills that can help them live successfully with their mental health.

The program also tailors treatment to the specific person through different modalities of therapy, which tends not to happen in emergency departments, Singh said.

It can be a better way to treat mental health rather than expecting them to get better in an environment such as an emergency department, where things are often more chaotic, he said.

“In some aspects, this program provides more in-depth therapy, individualized therapy,” Singh said.

Though only about 20 patients at a time can be served in the program, patients usually are discharged after a couple of weeks, allowing the hospital to keep the wait list for the program shorter, according to Donna Martinez, the day program’s manager.

The treatment consists of intensive cognitive behavioral or dialectical treatment therapy five days per week for six hours per day, she said. Almost anyone can refer a patient to the program, including a case manager, probation officer, member of a crisis team or the patients themselves.

Patients can also come into the program from an outpatient setting, finding themselves needing more support than what they had before, or they can come into the program from an inpatient setting, needing less support than what they had before, she said.

Though most people are in the program for only a couple of weeks, some patients can stay longer if it is helpful to them, Martinez said. The hope is to eventually expand the number of patients it serves at any given time to 30 people.

So far, staff working in the program are getting positive feedback from enrolled patients, Martinez said.

“It’s been a really helpful, safe environment for them to heal and grow,” she said.

Some people’s mental health conditions can go into remission for a period of time and then reemerge, others can have a mental health episode triggered by a recent event, Singh said. Many patients will experience periods in their lives in which they will be able to manage their mental health well and then periods in which they need an extra level of help.

The day program is available to people who might have already been through it before but need help again, Singh said.

“We’re only a phone call away,” he said.

That commitment to the community is something the St. Mary’s team is proud of — they like being able to serve patients in this capacity, he said.

“We are enjoying serving our folks in the community who would otherwise be in the ER,” Singh said. “And what gives us joy is when they leave our program feeling much better and ready to take on life — that’s the real reward.”

For more information about the program, call 207-753-4946 or visit stmarysmaine.com/dayhospitalprogram.