Tower Behavioral Health is committed to providing superior personalized care in the manner that’s most appropriate to meet the needs of each person who turns to us for help. For certain adults who are best served through home- or community-based services, we’ve developed the Assertive Community Treatment, or ACT, program.
Who We Serve
The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program is designed to serve and support chronically ill patients in a manner that will help them achieve improved quality of life without requiring hospitalization.
As is the case with all programs at Tower Behavioral Health, admissions decisions are made on an individual basis following a thorough review of each person’s history, needs, and goals. In general, the ACT program accepts patients who meet criteria such as the following:
- Adults age 26 and older of all genders
- Experiencing severe, persistent symptoms of diagnoses such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, as well as those with other co-occurring mental or behavioral health concerns
- Have needs that are best met via wraparound support that incorporates home-based, community-based, and facility-based services
Length of stay in the ACT program can vary considerably. Some patients may receive care for a few months, while others may remain in the program for a significantly longer period of time.
Program Features
Individualized care is a hallmark of the Assertive Community Treatment program at Tower Behavioral Health. Our team assesses each patient’s unique strengths and needs so that we can ensure that they’re connected with the services that will be most beneficial to them.
Depending on a variety of personal factors, care provided through our ACT program may include:
- Case management services
- Weekly medication deliveries, which can include administering injections if required
- Monthly meetings with a psychiatrist for medication management
- Individual therapy sessions with a master social worker (MSW) or a licensed professional counselor (LPC)
- Substance abuse counseling
- Group therapy, including process, recreational, and psychoeducational groups
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI)
- Educational and vocational support
Although ACT staff members do not provide direct medical care (except for administering injections as part of our medication management component), the program does offer significant support related to medical services. For example, ACT staff can help patients schedule appointments with their primary care physicians, and they will also accompany the patients to these appointments if needed.
Caring & Compassionate Staff
Patients who receive care through Tower Behavioral Health’s Assertive Community Treatment program benefit from close personal attention provided by a team of compassionate professionals, including nurses and therapists.
As noted in the previous section, ACT staff members may deliver medications to patients’ homes, administer those medications, help them make medical appointments, and accompany them to these appointments.
During individual and group therapy sessions, members of the ACT team provide services such as:
- Helping patients develop healthier coping skills
- Teaching strategies for managing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns
- Providing life skills instruction in areas such as healthy eating and medication education
- Offering guidance on achieving and maintaining recovery from substance use disorders
- Discussing important topics such as anger control and suicidal ideation
ACT staff members also supervise patients, interact with them, and model healthy behaviors during recreational activities such as basketball games, dominoes competitions, art projects, and bowling outings.
From case management oversight to direct assistance with specific tasks related to employment, education, or other important areas of life, the members of the ACT team ensure that patients receive the services they need, provided with the dignity and respect they deserve.
