In 2014, as a response to the increase in suicides and the Opioid Epidemic, there was the passage of the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Act. This Act had bipartisan support and created what are now called Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC).
Your mental health, substance use, and physical health are all related and affect each other. For example, feeling sad, hearing voices, or going through a lot of stress can all lead someone to turn to substances to feel better. A person with hypertension who also uses substances to the point of it being a problem could end up worsening their blood pressure through their substance use. These are only a few examples, but when your treatment teams work together, they can get a better picture of your overall health and give you better treatment.
Read Peter’s* family’s testimonial story about how he received whole-person care at Families Forward as well as care coordination with the help of a Nurse Care Manager.
“I love all of the support we had. They were there before he even came home from the hospital. I was prepared for him to come home because I knew we were going to have all of that support… He has more services now, so I’m feeling pretty confident… Wrap-around, his therapist, and the Nurse Care Manager have all been so great! So much support. Even when I call the emergency number to come to the house, they are right there.”
*Name changed for confidentiality reasons.
“I can’t express how much the collaboration benefits people and changes their lives. It changes every aspect of their lives. They see these systems that they felt worked against them actually working for them … people who have very difficult lives feel like the systems that are supposed to help them are fighting against them. The work we do together has helped people trust the system more.”
“We have a wonderful rapport. If they have client needs, they call us. I know everybody by name who works over there, and they know me. We have a really great relationship back and forth.”
“…we did a forum with [CMHA-CEI] on integrating behavioral health and physical health services. The evaluations on that were so impressive. We engaged people who otherwise would not have been engaged in our work. We were able to pull that together because of the strong partnership we had with CMH.”
People deserve to have care that has shown time and again through careful research to improve the lives of others who are similar to them. When connected to a treatment program, a person may have certain thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or situations that make them a good candidate for one of these treatment models. Check out below what we have here at CMHA-CEI.
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
Charter House Clubhouse
Parent Management Training - Oregon Model (PMTO)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Back in the 1980’s, states designed their mental health centers differently, so if you moved to another state and hoped to connect to mental health treatment, you wouldn’t know what to expect – the agency may not use treatment proven to help people get better or make sure you were connected to treatment as soon as possible when you needed it. CCBHC calls for agencies to provide (or work with another agency to provide) at least 9 "essential services."
Crisis Services
Sometimes life gets tough, and you need help right away, but isn’t a medical emergency. You can turn to Crisis, Services to get assistance, whether that is talking to a professional, getting connected to services, or even figuring out if the or even figuring out if the hospital is the best way to go.
Screening, Assessment (including Risk), Diagnosis
A screening is often a quick way to see if you may qualify for services. If so, you'll move on to a more thorough assessment, which can also result in figuring out a diagnosis or name for the things you may be experiencing. Contact our Access Center to get started with the screening process.
Treatment Planning
When connected to services, your case manager will work with you to create your goals around recovery. These goals are patient-centered, which means you play a role in deciding what you want to work on during treatment.
Outpatient Mental Health
Some of our units provide regular mental health visits that you sometimes might have even when you are feeling okay. Staying connected to your treatment team on a regular basis can help prevent a crisis or hospitalization from happening.
Targeted Case Management
Not only do we sometimes struggle with our mental health or substance use, but we may have lost a place to stay, need food resources, or need a ride to a medical appointment. These are a few examples of what we call "targeted case management," and your treatment team will work alongside you to help you get these important resources.
Veterans Systems Navigator Program
In 2017, CMHA-CEI developed their own Veterans System Navigator program designed for veterans and also run by veterans and veteran-friendly staff.
Psychiatric Rehab Services
We have other services here, depending on which level of care you qualify for. Some can assist with housing, employment, medication, training in personal care, psychoeducation, and wellness education. When going through the Access Center or if you're an existing consumer, ask staff which ones are available to you.
Peer Services
Some of our adult programs have Peer Support Specialists and Peer Recovery Coaches, while some of our Families Forward programs have Family Support Workers. These are staff who have similar lived experience to the consumers they work with.
Outpatient Primary Care Screening and Monitoring of Key Health Indicators
We have staff who can screen for physical health conditions you may be experiencing. We can also teach you how to improve your current physical health, or take steps to prevent some physical health conditions.
Sometimes things get tough, we may not know where to turn, and we need help as soon as possible. It can also be really hard to even reach out and ask for help to begin with. Here are some of the ways we have been making it easier for you to get the care you need:
1. We made some changes to our intake processes so that people can sometimes get care the same day they request it.
2. We also started a mobile crisis unit for adults and children a couple of years ago who helps local police, schools, and community centers with crises out in the community.
3. Some of our programs have psychiatrists who will meet with you through telehealth.
4. Sometimes medication combined with talk therapy is helpful for people who are recovering from addiction. We have some doctors here who can prescribe them or we can connect you to one outside of CMH.
5. We also have staff who connect with people who are incarcerated to help them obtain coverage before they are released so they can connect to treatment sooner.
6. Some units have therapists or staff who can meet with you outside of traditional work hours.