McLean: The Gold Standard in Mental Health

Why should you choose McLean for mental health care? Let us show you why we are consistently named the top freestanding psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report.

Consistently ranked as a top hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals survey, the staff at McLean recognize the importance of partnering with our patients and their families to successfully manage the conditions we treat.

McLean clinicians and staff work together with patients to create customized treatment plans that focus on the individual’s goals, helping them learn the skills necessary to live successful, meaningful lives.

We understand better than anyone that most individuals experience a variety of symptoms, many of which complicate a diagnosis. No case is too challenging for our multidisciplinary treatment teams. In fact, our clinicians specialize in caring for individuals with multiple diagnoses, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other conditions.

McLean aims to set patients on the path to recovery in the clearest and simplest way to ensure continued success.

We’re Ready To Talk

Staff talks to young patient sitting at table

If you or a loved one need help managing your mental health, contact us today so we can help you navigate treatment options to find the care you need.

Call us now!

617.855.3141
Staff talks to young patient sitting at table

Reasons to Trust McLean With Your Care

  • Consistently ranked a Best Hospital by U.S. News & World Report
  • Top-quality patient care, informed by the latest research
  • Staff are joint-appointed as members of the teaching faculty at Harvard Medical School
  • McLean is accredited by The Joint Commission, the national governing body for hospitals who annually ensure McLean meets their high standards
  • McLean is a member of Mass General Brigham, giving patients access to untold medical consultation and other key resources
  • Ongoing quality efforts, like gathering patient satisfaction responses and tracking treatment outcomes, ensuring constant improvement in patient care

Who We Treat

McLean offers high-quality mental health treatment for individuals of all ages experiencing a wide array of symptoms and diagnoses.

Our programs are ideal for those who are having trouble identifying mental health diagnoses or struggling with managing symptoms. We specialize in hard-to-treat cases and in working with individuals who have been in treatment but are not achieving their desired treatment goals.

Learn more about our world-class care for:

Addiction
McLean provides comprehensive support for individuals who want to reduce chemical dependency and regain control of their lives. Knowing that substance use is often seen alongside other psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and trauma, our programs leverage the expertise and wide-ranging mental health and evaluative services throughout McLean Hospital. With treatment options from short-term detox to insurance-based and self-pay, around-the-clock residential care, individuals have access to the care that best suits their needs.

Anxiety
Over 40 million American adults are affected by anxiety, making anxiety disorders the most common mental health conditions in the United States. At McLean Hospital, we are committed to providing support for individuals with anxiety disorders through world-class treatment, innovative research into causes and cures, and robust education for patients and families, clinicians, and the broader community.

Bipolar Disorder
McLean offers high-quality inpatient, residential, outpatient, and community-based programs for patients who live with bipolar disorder. Our staff have specialized expertise in treating this patient population and in providing individualized support and education to family members and help to coordinate care with community clinicians, social service agencies, families, and other support systems.

Borderline Personality Disorder
McLean has specialized residential and partial hospital (day) programs and outpatient care for BPD—as well as an array of treatments for coexisting diagnoses and symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and trauma. Our specialized therapeutic approaches, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and mentalization-based treatment (MBT), help patients with the goal of improving interpersonal and relationship skills and reducing self-destructive behaviors.

Depression
From short-term crisis care to ongoing outpatient services, depression treatment at McLean includes behavioral therapies and medication consultation. McLean specializes in treating coexisting mental health diagnoses that may accompany depression, and patients benefit from the expertise and consultative services throughout the hospital.

Eating Disorders
Our residential and partial hospital program for women specializes in the treatment of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Recognizing that each young woman has a distinct set of issues that contribute to her eating disorder, we also understand that many also struggle with co-occurring conditions, such as substance misuse, mood and anxiety disorders, trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, and medical issues. We work to help individuals through the mental and physical challenges on the pathway to recovery.

OCD
We are committed to providing robust care, support, and education resources for adults and children with obsessive compulsive disorder. Our residential, day, and outpatient programs focus on providing skills for patients to manage their illnesses on their own. McLean is a leader in exposure and response prevention therapy and other behavioral therapies proven to help children and adults who struggle with OCD.

Schizophrenia
Staff in our inpatient, residential, outpatient, and community-based programs for patients who live with schizophrenia have specialized expertise in treating this patient population and in providing individualized support and education to family members. McLean is dedicated to continuity of services during transitions and helps to coordinate care with community clinicians, social service agencies, families, and other support systems.

Trauma and Dissociative Disorders
McLean provides exceptional care for trauma and trauma-related disorders such as PTSD and dissociative identity disorder. Our inpatient and day program services for women experiencing the effects of childhood abuse or other traumatic events maintain a strong reputation for their balanced emphasis on stabilization and healing. We also offer outpatient care for an array of trauma symptoms and diagnoses, including specialty services for first responders.

Teens sit at classroom table

McLean is dedicated to setting children and adolescents up for future success

McLean offers care and support throughout the life span:

Children and Teens
As the brain and body develop from infancy through adulthood, kids and teens may encounter an array of challenges. McLean treats children ages 3-19 for an array of diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), bipolar disorder, and addiction, and we also provide specialty treatment programs focusing on OCD and personality disorders and their accompanying symptoms. Our full complement of inpatient, outpatient, residential, and partial hospital services helps young people and their families cope with psychiatric illness and the challenges it often brings.

Young Adults
Many mental health issues often emerge during early adulthood, with the onset of many mental illnesses occurring between the ages of 16-21. Today, more than ever, high school college students with proper support, skills, and symptom education are thriving while learning to cope with mental health and adjustment issues. The school experience can be challenging for individuals who are co-managing mental health issues and the rigors of academic life. Each year, McLean treats young people from more than 200 different colleges and universities to address a broad range of issues and psychiatric illnesses.

Adults
You would think that heart disease or cancer is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. But neither of them is. It is mental health disorders, with 40 million adults in the U.S. affected by anxiety and 6.1 million diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Worldwide, 355 million people are affected by depression. McLean Hospital offers comprehensive mental health care options for adults, from short-term acute care for individuals in psychiatric crisis to outpatient appointments. Services cover a range of symptoms and diagnoses, including addiction, anxiety and OCD, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, and trauma.

Older Adults
Psychiatric care of older adults can include managing the normal effects of mental and physical changes of aging, and also focuses on the psychological and neurological changes that can worsen as the body and brain get older. McLean Hospital clinicians are experts in older adult mental health, including treatment, research, and education for conditions both unique to older adults (like dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory impairment) and those with unique challenges for people in this age group (such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety).

Research-Informed Care

McLean strives to shape the future of mental health diagnosis and care through innovative research. As a research leader, we have some of the best minds in the world working on discoveries that have major impacts on the field of mental health.

Our basic science and clinical researchers work daily to study the brain, pursuing investigations to find causes for specific mental illnesses. Despite taking many different research approaches, their common goal is to develop improved treatments for symptoms and disorders.

Researcher looks at cells

McLean maintains the largest neuroscience and psychiatry research program of any private psychiatric hospital in the U.S.

McLean’s treatment programs emphasize proven treatment models, often discovered or refined through research at McLean. With research at our fingertips, we are constantly improving treatment outcomes and the overall patient experience.

We relentlessly pursue breakthroughs that allow us to help more people. The more we discover, the more we can normalize the public discussion around mental health.

What’s Keeping You From Seeking Care?

While people around the world may speak different languages and have cultures that are vastly different, there is one thing that affects every community: mental illness and the impact it has on individuals and families.

Many myths and misconceptions about mental health persist throughout the U.S. and around the world. Stigma often becomes a barrier to seeking care for mental health difficulties.

Stigma—it’s an ugly word, and it’s even uglier to experience. Stigma often brings experiences and feelings of shame, blame, hopelessness, distress, misrepresentation in the media, and reluctance to seek and/or accept necessary help.

DS participant Dominique

Dominique is a participant in McLean’s Deconstructing Stigma public awareness campaign

1 in 5 Americans will experience mental illness in his or her lifetime. It is something that affects us all. Yet 75% of people with mental illness say they have endured the pain of mental health stigma.

In fact, according to a study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior:

  • 38% of people do not want to move next door to someone who lives with mental illness
  • 56% do not want to spend an evening socializing with someone with mental illness
  • 33% do not want to make friends with someone who lives with mental illness
  • 58% do not want to work closely with someone with mental illness
  • 68% do not want someone with mental illness to marry into their family

If you are struggling with symptoms of an illness, or if you feel like no one would understand what you’re experiencing, you are not alone. McLean is here to help.

How McLean Is Changing Attitudes About Mental Health

Through clear and precise efforts, McLean offers robust professional and public education to share knowledge and improve understanding around mental health.

Our initiatives span the globe. From the award-winning Deconstructing Stigma campaign to partnerships with groups like the N.S. Vahia Foundation in Mumbai, India, McLean works to reduce misinformation and stigma in hopes of changing the way that people think about mental health and encouraging people to seek care if needed.

McLean’s international public awareness campaign Deconstructing Stigma is more than just a series of larger-than-life photographs of people affected by mental illness. It’s also honest, first-person takes about the mental health challenges faced by people around the world.

We also recognize the need for reliable and helpful mental health resources. In our free webinar series, McLean experts cover an array of mental health and wellness topics. The webinars are available for the public and professionals in hopes of promoting healthy individuals and communities.

Brains Matter

Students in India hold a human brain at a public exhibit

Brains Matter raises awareness about mental health issues through fun and educational outreach. Uniquely combining science, human brain specimens, and great activities, we deliver engaging and effective lessons on the inner workings of the brain. We also host discussions with neuroscientists and individuals living with mental health disorders. The programming was developed by McLean Hospital staff to help make psychiatry and neuroscience accessible to all.

We partner with individuals and organizations throughout the globe. Read more about our collaborations:

McLean is also at the forefront of training for those who work in the mental health field. For nearly 200 years, McLean—a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital—has been providing the finest professional training and resources for a wide range of mental health care professionals. Our top-notch and fully accredited programming supports professional development with a focus on improving patient care.

Dedication to Our Work

McLean has been a leader in mental health care since it opened more than two centuries ago. For the entirety of our storied history, we have been passionate about what we do. From the founders of McLean to our current staff of more than 2,300 caring individuals, we work together to champion the field of mental health. We are here to support our patients and their families to minimize their struggle and inspire hope.

If you or a loved one need help managing your mental health, McLean is here to help. Contact us today so we can help you navigate treatment options to find the care you need. Call us now at 617.855.3141.