ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT

A New York State  Office of Mental Health licensed multidisciplinary team providing comprehensive, community-based treatment and rehabilitative services.

ACT MISSION: The goal of ACT is to assist individuals in achieving psychiatric stability, abstinence from harmful substances, and to establish the skills and resources that are necessary for successful and personally satisfying community living.  The ACT team places a high emphasis on the values of rehabilitation and recovery.

ACT ORIGINS: The ACT model evolved out of the work of Arnold Marx, M.D., Leonard Stein, and Mary Ann Test, Ph.D., in the late 1960s. ACT has been widely implemented in the United States, Canada, and England. The Department of Veterans Affairs has also implemented ACT across the United States.

An evidence based practice, ACT has been extensively researched and evaluated and has proven clinical and cost effectiveness. The Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) has identified ACT as an effective and underutilized treatment modality for persons with serious mental illness.

ACT PRINCIPLES

Assertive Community Treatment services adhere to certain essential standards and the following basic principles:

PRIMARY PROVIDER OF SERVICES: The multidisciplinary make-up of each team (psychiatrist, nurses, social workers, rehabilitation, etc.) and the small client to staff ratio, helps the team provide most services with minimal referrals to other mental health programs or providers. The ACT team members share offices and their roles are interchangeable when providing services to ensure that services are not disrupted due to staff absence or turnover.

SERVICES ARE PROVIDED OUT OF OFFICE: Services are provided within community settings, such as a person's own home and neighborhood, local restaurants, parks and nearby stores.

HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED SERVICES: Treatment plans, developed with the client, are based on individual strengths and needs, hopes and desires. The plans are modified as needed through an ongoing assessment and goal setting process.

ASSERTIVE APPROACH: ACT team members are pro-active with clients, assisting them to participate in and continue treatment, live independently, and recover from disability.

LONG-TERM SERVICES: ACT services are intended to be long-term due to the severe impairments often associated with serious and persistent mental illness. The process of recovery often takes many years.

EMPHASIS ON VOCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS: The team encourages all clients to participate in community employment and provides many vocational rehabilitation services directly.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES: The team coordinates and provides substance abuse services.

PSYCHO EDUCATIONAL SERVICES: Staff work with clients and their family members to become collaborative partners in the treatment process. Clients are taught about mental illness and the skills needed to better manage their illnesses and their lives.

FAMILY SUPPORT AND EDUCATION: With the active involvement of the client, ACT staff work to include the client's natural support systems (family, significant others) in treatment, educating them and including them as part of the ACT services. It is often necessary to help improve family relationships in order to reduce conflicts and increase client autonomy.

COMMUNITY INTEGRATION: ACT staff help clients become less socially isolated and more integrated into the community by encouraging participation in community activities and membership in organizations of their choice.

ATTENTION TO HEALTH CARE NEEDS: The ACT team provides health education, access, and coordination of health care services.