Qualified Mental Health Specialist – Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health

CASE MANAGEMENT PROVIDED BY
A QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s case management services are designed to provide skill-building and linkage to community resources for clients and their families. Qualified Mental Health Specialists (QMHS) help to restore or increase the clients’ level of functioning. A case manager helps children practice skills they are learning in a real-life setting, so the service may be provided in a variety of places such as a home, school, or day care.

CASE MANAGER'S ROLE

The goal of case management services is to develop as many natural supports as possible to help the client be successful in the community.

Typically, a QMHS works with clients, as well as any family members, other professionals and even friends who are involved in the client’s treatment. If the client is 18-years-old or older, the case manager may work with just the client. A QMHS is on-call during business hours for their C&A clients. Depending on the client and the mental health issue, case managers may work in tandem with a clinician. A case manager is typically working with the client in a public setting and not necessarily just at the office. The QMHS often will do phone coaching with a client who may be suicidal, homicidal or thinking of doing self-harm.

QMHS SCENARIO

END GOAL

If a parent says they are unable to go the grocery store without buying their young child candy because the child makes a scene, the case manager will go with the family to the grocery store. At the grocery story, the case manager will help the family practice the strategies learned in prior sessions so when the child seeks unwanted attention the parent has the tools to diffuse the situation.

For a high school aged client, the QMHS may work on independent life skills. An example may be how to ride public transportation. The case manager will walk the client step-by-step through the process, perhaps by obtaining a copy of the bus route, or linking the client to a training class. The QMHS may ride the bus with the client, and then advance to meeting the client at their destination to see how the client is navigating public transportation.

The end goal of a QMHS is to increase the client’s skills and improve their level of functionality and develop or enhance their natural supports, ultimately helping the client to be more independent.

This is achieved by teaching the client life skills and practicing them in real-life situations. A client is generally with a QMHS for 12 to 18 months depending on the severity of the mental health issues.

QMHS Brochure