This 90-minute virtual consultation call with ACT teams and ACT stakeholders consists of a mini-didactic training on a topic of relevance and interest to ACT teams (at times circling back to topics related to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues as they come up), plus opportunities to pose consultation questions and learn from other ACT teams and their shared experiences within ACT.
In April, Dr. Pat Deegan will present on What is the Role of Peer Supporters When It Comes to Psych Meds? There is little guidance in the peer movement about the role of peer supporters and psychiatric meds. In some services peer supporters assist clinical teams in helping people become compliant with meds. In other agencies, peer supporters are instructed not to talk with people about meds. Pat Deegan will explore the various tensions we encounter when working with peers who use meds and propose some guidelines for navigating these spaces. Pat will also present a new framework for peer specialists to use when supporting people on their journey to use medication as a tool in getting to the life they want. There will be ample time for Q&A and discussion.
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based model that provides intensive community-based and outreach-oriented services to people who experience the most severe and persistent mental illness. The vast majority also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and many experience comorbid medical illnesses as well as homelessness. This is a vulnerable population and their providers – ACT teams – are at elevated risk themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Northwest MHTTC is partnering with the Institute for Best Practices at the University of North Carolina to host and facilitate regular meetings for ACT teams.
Goals of the meetings are to:
Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine and Director of the Washington State Center of Excellence in First Episode Psychosis or Lorna Moser, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Best Practice, Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health.
Pat Deegan, PhDPatricia E. Deegan, PhD's mission is to help activate and empower mental health services users in their own recovery and to provide peer supporters and clinicians with the know-how to support people in their recovery journey. She is uniquely positioned to fulfill her vocation because she was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, went on to get her doctorate in clinical psychology and today leads a company run by and for people in recovery. She is a thought-leader in the field of mental health recovery, has numerous peer-reviewed publications, has held a number of academic appointments, and has carried a message of hope for recovery to audiences around the world. In addition to her work on the CommonGround Program, she consults with OnTrackNY and has helped the team at the Center for Practice Innovations develop an innovative model for engaging young people under the NIMH RAISE Study. The model is now being adopted nationally.
Lorna Moser, PhDDr. Lorna Moser is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and the Director of the Institute for Best Practice, Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health.
Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhDDr. Monroe-DeVita is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Director, Washington State Center of Excellence in First Episode Psychosis.
