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The Intensive Comprehensive Care Case Management Model
Guiding clients through nonprofit services can be challenging, and sometimes what clients most need in a case management scenario is step-by-step guidance and structured programming. Whether they’re working through mental or behavioral health challenges, rehabilitation programs, or are trying to start a new life, intensive comprehensive care models could be what help facilitate their success.
Types of Intensive Comprehensive Care Case Management
There are three main submodels for Intensive Comprehensive Care: Assertive Community Treatment, Intensive Case Management, and Critical Time Intervention.
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
Assertive Community Treatment originated and is still used as a community-based alternative to hospitalization for people struggling with mental illness. In the past, dedicated hospitals would provide treatment to patients with mental health conditions. However, ACT works to help these individuals by delivering their care in a community setting and home-based location, rather than a residential setting that may not be the best fit for them. This is a decades-old, evidence-based practice in which each individual case is built to suit the individual in need. Case managers work with small case loads and take a multidisciplinary team approach to treatment. This can include multiple forms of cognitive therapy and collaboration within and even outside of the organization. Oftentimes, a care team includes a minimum of two case managers, a nurse, and a psychiatrist.
ACT provides a wide range of services that are intended to meet the client’s essential needs while they focus on recovery and personal health management. Such programs can often be long-term, with 24-hour support, though the goal is to gradually phase each client out of their respective programs. ACT treatment can include the following:
- Mental health counseling
- Housing and daily living skills assistance
- Socialization and community building activities
- Employment assistance
- Crisis intervention and substance abuse treatment
Intensive Case Management (ICM)
Intensive Case Management is similar to ACT in many ways but is designed for shorter and more thorough time frames. It relies on the ability of the case manager to form a deep connection with the client as a care coordinator and deliverer, so the client feels understood and supported in their program or programs. Case loads are not shared as frequently with other professionals, and it’s up to the case manager to determine how best to help the client. This focus may be particularly helpful if there is one or a few specific areas in which the client needs assistance and can learn in a short period of time to manage their program more independently.
ICM has branched out since its inception because of its level of success and is no longer only used to deliver mental health services like ACT often is. It can also help with physical recovery and rehabilitation from injuries or substance abuse, and may be used for domestic violence/intimate partner violence scenarios. Since the scope of treatment may be narrower and more specific, case managers have the ability to focus specifically on a few treatments or programs that will help the client succeed in a specified period of time.
Critical Time Intervention (CTI)
Critical Time Intervention is a specialized, time-limited intervention program designed to assist clients in the transition from residential to community care. People experiencing homelessness, treatment for mental illness, rehabilitation from drugs or medical conditions, veteran-to-civilian transition, and even release from imprisonment have benefited from this model. CTI helps these types of clients adapt to a more independent lifestyle in a community setting after living in a residential facility of some kind for a significant length of time. It was originally intended to bridge the gap between HMIS-specific services and community services, and may use a “halfway house” format. This phase-oriented approach to case management focuses on building community support networks with other people in a program and facilitating a gradual transition to community-based service providers over a period of around nine months. These community support programs work to help clients eventually become more able to care for themselves while also relying on the ongoing support of doctors, case managers, and community groups.
CaseWorthy Case Management
We understand that each nonprofit functions differently and will use different case management models based on their program types and the clients they serve. That’s why we designed our case management software to include the flexibility and configurability that your case managers need to facilitate any case management model and subsequent tasks. We offer a comprehensive suite of case management tools and resources, including our CommHUB feature that helps case managers interact virtually with clients and with other professionals. If you’re interested in what this case management solution has to offer, contact us to schedule a demo! We’d love to get to know you and find out more about how your nonprofit is serving its community.