What works when it comes to mental illness?
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Our approach can make a real difference in the future of treatment and recovery for serious mental illness because we:

  • Train the next generation of mental health professionals using proven, multi-disciplinary programs.
  • Emphasize early identification and prevention along with top-notch interdisciplinary care, sustained recovery, and proven clinical treatment.
  • Apply leading-edge academic research to real-world mental health treatment.
  • Share our successes broadly across the state’s mental health community.
  • Foster partnerships among state, academic, and community mental health professionals.

At the Center for Excellence, we’re backed by outstanding psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, researchers, and other mental health professionals. We know what works. And we have what it takes to help move North Carolina’s mental health system from where it is today to a higher and more compassionate standard of care.

Specialized Programs

STEP, OASIS, Brushes with Life. The services we offer people with mental illness are at the core of all we do.

Training

At the Center, we take a multi-faceted approach to training mental health service providers.

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Myths View all myths

People with schizophrenia can't learn new things.

Schizophrenia can affect cognition, making it more difficult to pay attention, remember things, think abstractly, organize thoughts and behaviors, make decisions, learn new things, and communicate. Despite these challenges arising from thought disorders and cognitive impairments, people with schizophrenia do successfully go to school, hold jobs, and do things that require them to use their brains in multiple ways.