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 and ACT stakeholders.
Goals of the meetings are to:
In addition to the meet-up, we have also created a Virtual Discussion Forum to help organize information, resources, and strategies used across teams. You can participate in the forum as a guest, or sign up as a member. Within the Discussion Forum are specific board topics:
On July 6, our guest speaker will be Pat Deegan, presenting "Coming Out of Quarantine Safety Plan." This worksheet was developed by Pat Deegan and colleagues and it can be used by anyone working with vulnerable populations: clinicians, peer specialists, wellness nurses, employment specialists.
Maria Monroe-Devita, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine; Co-Director of the Northwest MHTTC; and Director, Washington State Center of Excellence in First Episode Psychosis.
Lorna Moser, PhD, Director of the UNC ACT Technical Assistance Center in the UNC Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health; and Coordinator of the North Carolina ACT Coalition.