Rehabilitation-Oriented Community Care

Recovering from trauma is a long, challenging, complex process that can last years or even a lifetime. For a client in recovery, having a case manager advocating for them and helping them reach their wellness goals is a major advantage. This case management model is especially helpful for people undergoing treatment for physical/mental trauma, severe mental illness, or substance abuse. It can be used with veterans, senior clients, domestic or intimate partner violence victims, disaster recovery clients, and more. There are two main types of Rehabilitation-Oriented Community Care: the Rehabilitation model and the Strengths-Based model.

Rehabilitation Model

This is a classic nonprofit case management model in which case managers direct and assist with clients’ rehabilitation and recovery. Because the Rehabilitation model is so flexible, numerous types of clients can benefit from it, since it primarily focuses on trauma recovery and response. Case managers take a direct approach to the case, personally supporting clients on their recovery journeys. They help identify strengths and challenges and create a plan to help the client build back up to a healthy state of being.

Strengths-Based Model

The Strengths-Based model is a more specialized approach to rehabilitation, in which emphasis is placed on clients’ strengths and goals. This approach was developed based on the belief that other models, like the Rehabilitation model, focus too much on the client’s weaknesses and challenges and don’t focus enough on the advantages and strengths they already possess.

Similar to a Clinical Case Management model, the Strengths-Based model relies heavily on the influence of the community, specifically the client’s family and friends, to help the client achieve their goals. In addition to community support, a case manager in a Strengths-Based scenario helps deliver clinical and advocacy services to help the client move forward.

Assisting a client through a Strengths-Based model helps them specifically identify the positive aspects of their life. This can encourage the client to move forward in their program when other motivating factors do not. It can also teach them how to shift their mindset or perspective so they can more effectively reach their goals. Admittedly, many of a client in rehab’s circumstances may not be in their control. However, this method can help them understand which ones are, which ones may eventually be, and how they can leverage their strengths to pursue their goals.

The Strength’s Based rehabilitative case management model can help build a client’s hope and self-confidence, reveal to them resources they didn’t previously know about, and gain the willingness to seek out other forms of support. Case managers are directly involved in this process of self-discovery. While they primarily work with clients to accomplish the goals that the client has established, they also work to encourage their clients to see themselves and their situations positively. Hope for the future based on relationships and pre-existing evidence can go a long way toward helping clients succeed in reaching their recovery goals.

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