Two psychiatrists have joined the clinical staff of FirstHealth Behavioral Health Services, doubling the number of the program's board-certified physician specialists.

Drs. Benjamin Ose and Charlie L. Swanson Jr. are part of a physician team that also includes Dr. Fernando Cobos, the program's medical director, and Dr. Mary T. Mandell.

"We are thrilled to have both Dr. Ben Ose and Dr. Chuck Swanson join Behavioral Outp-atient Services," says Mary Silverman, director of FirstHealth Behavioral Services. "Having worked with both physicians in the past, we are aware of their strong commitment to caring and respectful patient care, and we are excited about the expanded opportunities for specialized care that they bring to our FirstHealth group."

Both Ose and Swanson are certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Ose graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in history and then completed medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and a psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland-Sheppard Pratt.

After his residency training, he worked with active duty service members, primarily from the 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg and subsequently served as medical director of A New Start Support Services in Clayton.

He currently spends two days of each week with the FirstHealth program and the remainder of his time in private practice in Apex.

Ose's psychiatric expertise is broad-based, but he is especially adept, as recognized by a recent induction into Cambridge's Who's Who, at treating mood and anxiety disorders as well as practicing holistic mental health.

A general adult psychiatrist, Swanson completed medical school at Indiana University. He later did his general psychiatry residency at Duke University and completed a fellowship in neuropsychiatry and schizophrenia research at the University of Pennsylvania.

He has been a member of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Swanson's clinic interests are inpatient and outpatient adult psychiatry, mood disorders, schizophrenia and neuropsychiatric conditions.

In addition to the four board certified psychiatrists, FirstHealth's multidisciplinary treatment team also includes psychiatric nurses, activity specialists and social workers who provide individual and group therapy, psycho-educational groups, family support services and comprehensive discharge planning.

Anyone needing more information on FirstHealth Behavioral Health Services can call (910) 715-3370.