Mental Health Continuum of Services

Top: least restrictive, less intense service

To 

Bottom: more restrictive, more/most intense

Prevention: Offered in schools/community, works with all types of individuals to prevent or provide awareness and education. Many schools in our area offer prevention, whether through programs, Student Assistance Program, or as a liaison between the school and local mental health agency. Prevention also offered throughout the community. Not typically requiring insurance.

School Services: Clubs, tutoring, “Student Services”, guidance, programs, groups, mentoring, etc. Student Assistance Program, IEPs, CASSP, etc. To promote a positive school climate and as either prevention or early intervention if a student is identified to possibly be dealing with a variety of struggles. Not typically requiring insurance.

Community Services: Community programs typically available for all individuals in the community YMCA, AGAPE, presentations, forums, libraries, etc. to assist with services or to enrich children and family and their ties to the community. Prevention and early intervention. Not typically requiring insurance.

Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP): Able to assist families and individuals/agencies involved in a child’s treatment by utilizing the CASSP Core Principles: child-centered, family-focused, community-based, multi-system, culturally competent, and least restrictive/least intrusive means. A CASSP Coordinator is available to help coordinate meetings and assist with services that are most appropriate for the child, while being in contact/setting up meetings with all of those involved with the child’s treatment.

CMSU Counties CASSP Coordinator

Jennifer Jones

507 East Market Street

Danville, PA 17821

Phone: (570) 275-4962

Fax: (570) 275-554

Email: jjones@cmsu.org or jgasperetti@cmsu.org 

Outpatient Therapy (OPT): Typically once a week for about an hour, can vary. Usually this is at an office of some sort.  Some therapy can be specialized as well.

Case Management (CM): Resource Coordination (RC) (typically monthly), Intensive Case Management (ICM) (typically weekly). Their job is to assist families in getting services and navigating the confusing area of behavioral and emotional health. They will assist in referrals, coordinate psychiatry, medical services, therapeutic services, school services, etc. Typically though the county.

Behavioral Health Rehabilitative Services (BHRS) “wraparound”: Typically meeting in home or community, and oftentimes school setting, these workers will provide therapeutic services at a slightly more intensive level than therapy, and is often expanded beyond an office setting. Works with the child in the setting they are in. Typically includes behavior modification.

• Mobile Therapy (MT)

• Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS)

• Behavioral Specialist Consultant (BSC)

Therapeutic After-School: Children will receive services for a few hours in the evening. Less intensive than a partial hospitalization program. Ex: ARRTS.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST): Higher level of care, more intensive. In the community, school, and home, but focuses on emotional/behavioral problems (adolescents) such as truancy, aggression. disobedience/defiance, etc.

Family-Based (FBMH): Also a higher, more intensive, level of care; roughly 9 months multiple times a week. Family-based team delivers services in-home, in school and in the community. For children who are at risk for out of home placement. Services are typically “prescribed” by a physician, psychiatrist, or licensed psychologist after less intensive services have been tried.

Partial Hospitalization (PHP): Child attends program during the day (temporarily) in place of a regular school setting. Will generally provided with education, but spend a lot of day with individual, group, family, and recreational therapy. Goal to stabilize to learn skills to eventually be able to cope in a regular school setting. Typically discussed in agreement with the child’s school of origin.

Crisis: 24-hour hotline to assist those in crisis, whether it be simply just coming up with a safety plan, or assisting in inpatient hospitalization. This may be used in conjunction with services, only on an as-needed basis.

Inpatient Hospitalization: Inpatient care for the purpose of safety and stabilization (typically due to threats to harm self or others). When stabilization is met, patient will work with the hospital team to discuss discharge and services. Usually, patient will check in to an ER and hospital will assist in finding a facility that specializes in psychiatric needs.

Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC): out-of-home, with foster parents who are trained and specialized to care for emotional, behavioral, or social issues.

Residential Treatment Facility (RTF): Treatment in a facility 24/7 on a longer-term basis until ready to transition back into the home. Like other more intensive services, a lot of times lower levels of care should be tried first, and a person is at a higher level of need than services they have utilized.