Assertive Community Treatment

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team

SouthLight’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team provides a person-centered, recovery-based approach to treatment for individuals who have been provided with a diagnosis of Severe and Persistent Mental Illness.  

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services include:

• Assertive engagement Outreach
• Mental health and therapeutic treatments
• Physical healthcare management supports
• Vocational support
• Dual-disorder treatment
• Family/natural support education
• Linkages to community resources
• Peer support services in a responsive, mobile multidisciplinary team format 

The goal of Assertive Community Treatment engagement is to lessen the effects of the symptoms of Severe and Persistent Mental Illness and provide our members the treatment, rehabilitative efforts, and support services that individuals may need to achieve their goals and effectively navigate their communities independently. 

Referral Criteria to Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team

Principles 

• The client will have the potential to respond to active treatment and rehabilitation and to benefit from ACT services 
• Excellent communication between ACT and referral source will be maintained, including complete documentation 
• ACT is not to be considered a first line of services; therefore, clients will generally be admitted from a tertiary mental health inpatient service, community mental health, or other ACT teams. ACT services those individuals who have previously failed cycling through the mental health system without positive clinical or psychosocial outcomes 

Inclusion Criteria: 

• Age 18 & older 
• Diagnosis of an Axis I serious mental illness, i.e. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or related psychotic disorders 
• Have severe symptoms and impairments that impair their functioning in community living 
• Have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs 
• Needs services greater than 3 times per week 
• Frequently uses mental health services i.e., COAST/ED/Crisis Services 
• Multiple recent hospital admission (50 days in the last year or 150 days over the last three years) 
• Not engaged with other community mental health services 
• Have significant functional impairments in at least 2 of the following: Recovery, Symptom management, Health and System Navigation 

Exclusion Criteria: 

• Individuals with a primary diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, substance abuse disorder, or dementia are not the intended or appropriate client groups 
• Noncompliance with medication adherence in itself is not a reason for ACT 
• Traditional case management services or other attempts at treatment including Community Support Teams and psychosocial rehabilitation have not been attempted