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Are you in crisis?

If you are having a mental health emergency, please contact crisis services in your local community. 
Click here for a directory of mental health centers throughout the state.

Brushes with Life

Specialized Programs

The services we offer people with
mental illness are at the core of all we do.

OASIS

OASIS (Outreach and Support Intervention Services) is an early intervention program for the treatment of psychosis. Our patients are young adults and older adolescents who are experiencing their first psychotic episode. Our clinic is located at Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro, NC.

STEP

STEP (Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program) is a clinical treatment program for those who have a diagnosed psychotic disorder, most typically schizophrenia. We have an inpatient unit at the UNC Neurosciences Hospital and two outpatient clinics, one at the UNC Neurosciences Hospital and one at Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro, NC.

STEP Research Clinic at the North Carolina Psychiatric Research Center

The STEP Research Clinic focuses on maximizing recovery for those living with serious mental illness through state-of-the-art clinical care, and research studies to advance knowledge and improve treatment options.

Brushes with Life

Brushes with Life: Art, Artists, and Mental Illness is a creative arts program for people in treatment at OASIS and STEP; members of Club Nova, a local clubhouse for persons with mental illness; and other select community programs in the Chapel Hill area.
Myths View all myths

Schizophrenia is caused by bad parenting.

In the 1950s, some therapists working with families thought that schizophrenia was caused by bad parenting, and coined the term "schizophrenogenic," (causing schizophrenia), which was usually applied to mothers. While fun to say, this term was neither helpful nor accurate, putting unwarranted blame on families already struggling to come to terms with the burdens of a chronic illness.

It is true that high-stress family situations may exacerbate the illness when families fail to recognize problems, to initiate early treatment, or to provide good communication, problem-solving, boundaries, and support; but these things do not cause schizophrenia.