Discovery Behavioral Health, Inc., an expanding network of evidence-based mental health, substance use and eating disorder treatment centers, has acquired Awakenings KC Clinical Neuroscience Institute in Prairie Village, Kansas, outside of Kansas City.

Awakenings offers adult outpatient mental health programs for a wide range of disorders, including anxiety, depression, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), thought disorders, co-occurring disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)and eating disorders. The center offers group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which can be integrated with medication management by a psychiatrist.

In addition, Awakenings offers cutting-edge treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD), including TMS therapy and ketamine infusion therapy for clinical depression. According to a 2021 study by Mental Health America, the states of Missouri and Kansas rank 31 and 43, respectively, in the nation in the rate of clinical depression, a condition which is estimated to affect nearly three million adult Americans. (The higher the ranking, the higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.)

Awakenings is headed by Maria Cristina Davila, M.D., who is double board-certified in psychiatry and neurology. Born in Argentina, she completed her medical school training in Buenos Aires before moving to Kansas City where she completed her psychiatric residency training at University of Missouri, Kansas City Medical School.

She has been practicing in the community since 1998 and has served in many positions in local universities and hospitals. Currently, she serves as president of the Midwest chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

“Awakenings offers hope to patients who might have tried other treatment programs without success. We’re particularly proud of our ketamine infusion therapies. Because of its rapidness and effectiveness, it can potentially improve symptoms even in patients with treatment-resistant depression and other mental health conditions,” says Dr. Davila.

Ketamine infusion therapy can have an immediate and lasting impact on clinical depression with minimal disruption to the patient’s daily routine. Ketamine is a manmade pharmaceutical first synthesized in 1962 and approved for use in the United States in 1970. It works by stimulating the development of new receptors and synapses in the brain. In 2019, the FDA made a groundbreaking decision to approve a form of ketamine as a clinical treatment for treatment-resistant depression.

Discovery Behavioral Health President & CEO John Peloquin notes, “We’re on the cusp of seeing a wave of breakthrough treatments in behavioral health that combine evidenced-based medications with personalized counseling. Dr. Davila and her team are at the vanguard of introducing these innovations, and we’re thrilled to welcome Awakenings to our growing nationwide network of behavioral health centers.”

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