SERVICES OFFERED

Jail-Based Competency Program

Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare started the first Jail Based Competency Restoration (JBCR) Program in the State of Indiana. JBCR is an initiative being piloted at the Vanderburgh County Jail, and includes collaboration between Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare, the Vanderburgh County Courts and Jail, Evansville State Hospital, and the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addictions. JBCR allows Southwestern staff the opportunity to provide direct services to individuals in the jail who have been determined to be psychologically unable (“incompetent”) to participate in their own defense. In the past, these persons would remain in the jail, and without treatment, while awaiting transfer to a State Psychiatric Hospital where treatment would be started. With the JBCR Program, treatment is initiated in the jail setting with the intent being a person’s competency will be restored prior to ever needing to go to a State Hospital. Services include a Clinical Evaluation, Psychiatric Evaluation with Medication Management, and Legal Education training.

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services are designed to provide those with severe and persistent mental illnesses with the highest possible level of community support. An evidence-based treatment model, ACT teams emphasize the importance of addressing more than just mental health; we treat the whole person by coordinating comprehensive, integrated care from professionals within our agency and from specialists in the community.

We believe in keeping caseloads small, so our clients can receive the attention they need and deserve. Our team provides intensive in-home and community-based care to meet the specific needs and unique struggles of each client, and we empower our clients to achieve recovery on their terms. We believe in person-centered treatment and that clients are the experts on their own lives and needs.

On the ACT team, we believe clients are best able to achieve their goals when they feel well, when they are safe, and when they can meet their basic needs without fear of being cold or hungry, and so we teach our clients how to make use of the various community supports and entitlement programs they qualify for, how to identify and build on their existing strengths, and how to circumvent the barriers standing in their way. We serve as advocates for those who face significant legal, financial, or social barriers to success.

ACT services are rehabilitative in nature, and those who graduate from our services typically either transition to a less intensive level of care or, in some cases, choose to withdraw from our services entirely, in favor of maintaining their progress independently in the community, with the support of their primary care prescriber and family. ACT services can be provided on a long-term basis, though, if a client continues to meet our level of need, and if our services are deemed integral to the maintenance of their stability in the community.

Community-Based Therapy

A community-based approach to therapy breaks down barriers to accessing needed care. Moreover, by meeting with clients in their homes, therapists are able to develop a more accurate understanding of the social and environmental stressors clients might be facing, which provides our treatment team with invaluable insight into the strengths, resources, and challenges impacting the overall wellness of our clients.

Community-Based Therapy services are designed to meet the needs of clients who struggle to attend office-based therapy appointments, due to conditions stemming from their mental health and socioeconomic barriers. Our therapy services are designed for individuals needing frequent and intensive services at a more manageable pace.

Services offered:

Individual Therapy
Family Therapy
Group therapy

Supervised Group Living

Our Supervised Group Living residential program was designed to provide individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness with an environment in which they can develop the skills needed for independent living in the community.

There are currently two group homes in Evansville (Michigan and Buena Vista). Each home has a capacity for 10 residents and is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All homes are made up of 10 bedrooms, two full and one-half baths, a laundry room, living room, kitchen/dining area, and a staff office and bathroom.

To qualify for our residential program, a person must be a minimum of 18 years old, have or be eligible for Medicaid and have multiple skills training needs. Must be able to address their hygiene and medical needs independently with hands-off coaching from staff. Once there, all group home residents are eligible for several services: Individual/Group skills training, Case Management, Psychiatric interview/Medication review, Medication training and support as well as Recovery Skills Assistants to assist with Skills training each day. Recovery Skills Assistants help residents become more independent in the community as well as prepare them for independent community living.

The program is not time limited, and residents are allowed to stay in the group home for as long as they have the need. Family and friends are encouraged to visit and to stay connected. Outside supports are essential to the recovery process. While there, residents are expected to play an active role in their treatment.

Outpatient/Community-Based Service

Recovery. Per Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, to recover is “to save from loss and restore to usefulness”. Staff in Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare's Community Support Services assists individuals in doing this every day. From helping someone develop the skills to better understand and manage their symptoms, to achieving a higher level of integration and independence in their community, staff actively engage individuals so they may regain a sense of self and self-worth.

The debilitating effects of a severe mental illness can be significant and comprehensive, even when positive symptoms are well managed. Everyday tasks that many take for granted can be overwhelming or seem insurmountable. And, caring for one’s own spiritual, recreational, social, and leisure needs is often not even an afterthought.

Using Illness Management and Recovery techniques, along with Motivational Interviewing, CSS staff work with individuals to assist them in developing the skills they can use to leverage their strengths to lessen the impact of barriers and challenges they encounter. A person-centered approach is utilized to encourage collaboration with those with whom we work to develop and achieve small objectives of their choosing to allow them to accomplish a larger, overall goal.

Change can be difficult, especially when immediate results are not obvious. For this reason, staff model, teach, coach, and reinforce the actions that will support a person in their own journey to recovery.

When needed, Case Management Services are available to provide ongoing assessment of needs and strengths, treatment planning, advocacy, and linkage/referral to other providers and resources that support the persons recovery.