District 19 CSB Crisis Line: (804)862-8000
Toll Free Crisis Line: 1-866-365-2130

District 19's Clinical Services Division offers the following Mental Health Services:

Mental Health Case Management Services

Mental Health Case Management Services are available for adults with problems relating to mental health or children who have, or are at risk of developing mental health or behavioral problems. These services provide the following:

• Evaluation- Individuals will initially be evaluated to see if they are eligible and appropriate for services that we offer. The individual may receive a mental health evaluation from a certified psychiatrist.
• Linkage- Once an individual has been enrolled in mental health case management services, the individual will be linked to services available in the community which will meet their identified needs.
• Coordination- We work together with family, physicians, Criminal Justice System, therapists, Department of Social Services, school staff and administration, and other service providers and agencies to work toward the common purpose of helping individuals reach their potential.
• Advocacy- We provide a voice for individuals in situations when their own voice may not be heard, in order to empower them to strive toward personal goals.
• Supportive Counseling- We provide support and encouragement, and educate individuals on appropriate behavior and conduct and teach valuable coping and communication skills. We encourage individuals to be an active participant in their treatment and to maintain treatment compliance.
• Follow -up- We provide regular follow-up by meeting with the individual and coordinating with other agencies that are involved in the individual’s life at least monthly and throughout their treatment.

Mental Health Outpatient Services

Mental Health Outpatient Services provide a structured, supportive environment for learning and enhancing social and life skills. A multidisciplinary team offers psycho-educational, cognitive-behavioral, psycho-dynamic and psycho-social groups, in the following areas:

• managing the symptoms of anxiety and depression; problem-solve; better manage time; set goals for personal change; improve social and communication skills; increase self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem;
• practicing skills in a safe environment.

Mental Health Residential Support Services

Mental Health Residential Support Services provides an array of supports to consumers with mental illnesses to assist them in the areas of activities of daily living, community integration, money management, nutrition, medication management, interpersonal skills, etc.

This service is provided throughout the District 19 catchment area and is usually provided in the consumer's home and community. Staff are based out of the Dinwiddie, Emporia/Greensville, Hopewell and Petersburg Counseling Centers.

Mental Health Day Programs 

Mental Health Day Programs (MHDP) provide a supportive and recovery-oriented environment for psychosocial rehabilitative services in a non-residential setting. Consumers and staff work together in the development and implementation of structured activities involved in the day-to-day operation of the programs. Recovery-oriented services are designed as an integral part of a continuum of care to ensure that consumers remain stable in the community. Psychoeducational and behavioral interventions are provided in a setting in which the consumer’s needs are addressed, skills training applied and recovery experienced. Referrals are accepted from providers who offer treatment to individuals with mental illness or co-occurring disorders.

Enrollment is based upon meeting eligibility criteria and a consumer's need for a structured environment.  Consumers are those individuals who would benefit from a group modality.  Referrals for admission are accepted from any of the offices of the District 19 Services Board, private practitioners under contract, and other individuals who are eligible for services.

Nutritional meal are offered daily i.e. breakfast, lunch and snack. Meals are sponsored by USDA United Stated Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (CACFP). USDA is an equal opportunity service. Discrimination will be prohibited regardless of program participant’s race, color, national origin, age, sex and disability. Complaint Procedure: To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Voice) or (800) 877-8339 (TTD) or (866) 377-8642 (relay voice users). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

District 19's Mental Health Day Programs:

Assisted Living Facilities (ALF)

Jennifer Kirkland, LCSW, Program Manager
jkirkland@d19csb.com
20 W. Bank Street, Suite 1
Petersburg, VA 23803
Phone: (804) 862-8003
FAX: (804) 863-4049
District 19 CSB Crisis Line: (804) 862-8000
Toll Free Crisis Line: 1-866-365-2130

The ALF Program is a multi-level case management services to those residents residing in assisted living facilities in the City of Petersburg and Dinwiddie County. The residents must have a diagnosis of major mental illness, mental retardation and/or substance abuse problem. It is the program’s belief that close coordination of care, multi-level outreach services, education and trainings, social skills building and leisure opportunities will assist residents to achieve and improve quality of life. There are 2 - part mission to the program. The first is to help each resident maintain psychiatric stability and prevent or decrease disruptions so that they are able to achieve a lasting tenure in the community. The second part of the mission is to assist the direct care staff and the operators of the facilities by providing education and trainings so their level of understanding of mental illness is enhanced. This is believed to have direct effect on how the staff may deal with residents whose behavior may be unusual or even disruptive. Most of the trainings are provided on-site of the residence for their convenience.

When a resident achieves the goal of independent living, at minimum the same level of service will continue to ensure stability in the community. At an appropriate time the consumer will transition out of the ALF program and to another program.

• Medication/Symptom Management
• Psychiatric Nursing Services
• Psychiatric/Medication Evaluations
• Supportive Counseling
• Multi-Level Outreach Services
• Training in Daily Living Skills
• Group Activities
• Individual Activities
• Linkage to programs and benefits
• Referrals to support services

Top of Page

The PACT program is comprised of multidisciplinary mental health professionals organized as a mobile unit to provide the treatment, rehabilitation, and support services that persons with severe mental illnesses need to live successfully in the community. The PACT program is also a licensed Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) program.

The primary goals of PACT treatment are:

• To lessen or eliminate the debilitating symptoms of mental illness each individual client experiences and to minimize or prevent recurrent episodes of the illness
• To meet basic needs and enhance quality of life.
• To improve functioning in adult social and employment roles and activities.
• To increase community tenure.
• To lessen the family’s burden of providing care.

It is important to emphasize that PACT is not a “linkage” or “brokerage” case management program that connects individuals to services provided by multiple mental health, housing, or rehabilitation agencies or programs in the community. The PACT multidisciplinary staff works as a “team” – not a group of individual practitioners who operate in the context of a case management program and have primary responsibility only for their caseloads. The PACT team works collaboratively to deliver the majority of treatment, rehabilitation, and support services required by each client to live in the community. The team provides these necessary services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.

The fundamental PACT principles are summarized below:

Primary provider of services and fixed point of responsibility

The PACT team is the primary provider of services and has the responsibility to help clients meet needs in all aspects of living in the community. ... Having one team provide all key services minimizes the “fragmentation” and time-consuming coordination characteristic of traditional mental health systems in which there are multiple agencies and programs, each addressing only part of a client’s needs for housing, employment services, or therapy.

Services provided out of office

The majority of PACT treatment and rehabilitation services take place in the community - that is, in the client’s own residence and neighborhood, at employment sites in the community, and in the same places most people spend their leisure time. This mobile approach minimizes dropout of clients, enables the provision of psychosocial services wherever clients need to use them, and eliminates the need for transfer of learning, which has been difficult to achieve in persons with serious mental illnesses.

Highly individualized services to the client

Individualization of treatment across clients and across time is fundamental to the PACT model given the great diversity among persons with severe mental illnesses and the fact that both clients and psychiatric conditions are changing. Individualization can occur only if the staff put in the time to really know the person and his or her family. Treatment interventions are tailored to address the current needs and preferences of the each individual rather than assigning clients in groups to “programs”.

An assertive “can do” approach

The PACT multidisciplinary clinical team assumes the responsibility to do whatever needs to be done to assist a person with mental illness in meeting his or her individual goals and service and treatment needs. The PACT team works to adapt the environment and themselves to meet the client’s needs rather than requiring the client to adapt to or follow the rules of the treatment program. The rules ... for acceptable community behavior the PACT model uses are the general rules and responsibilities that apply to all citizens in the local community. In addition, the PACT team continuously provides the energy, persistence, and unconditional emotional support that clients need to develop, try, and evaluate more effective strategies and interventions to meet their individual aspirations and treatment and rehabilitation needs.

Continuous long-term services

PACT services are delivered in a continuous rather than time-limited framework. The first major controlled study of PACT found that clients did well while receiving PACT services, but relapsed or showed loss of treatment gains following discharge from the program. Even very intensive, community-based treatment cannot “cure” severe mental illness, but the PACT model can provide a system of care within which persons with severe mental illness can live and thrive.

The scope of the program

The PACT model is indicated for adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses, which are psychiatric disorders that cause symptoms and impairments in basic mental and behavioral processes. These symptoms and impairments produce distress and major functional disability in adult role functioning (e.g., employment, self-care, and social and interpersonal relationships). Clients are not excluded from PACT services because of severity of illness, disruptiveness in the community or the hospital, or failure to participate in or respond to traditional mental health services (e.g., outpatient therapy, day treatment). PACT clients may be voluntary or admitted under court commitment.

PACT services are intended primarily for individuals with psychiatric illnesses that are most severe and persistent, including the following psychiatric diagnoses from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM IV):

• Schizophrenia
• Other psychotic disorders (e.g., schizoaffective disorder)
• Bipolar disorder

In addition, PACT services are appropriate for some people who experience significant disability from other disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa, borderline personality disorder, and dissociative identity disorder, and who have not been helped by traditional mental health services.

 The program gives priority to referrals with a history of a) severe and persistent mental illness, b) significant functional disability, and c) a history of recurring state psychiatric hospitalization.

Services

The PACT team provides comprehensive, individualized services in an integrated, continuous fashion for persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses, including:

• Treatment for the primary manifestations (i.e., symptoms and impairments) of the illness itself.
• Rehabilitation to help each person build his or her strengths and cope with the effects of mental illness on adult activities (e.g., employment, home life and activities of daily living, and social and interpersonal relationships).
• Emotional and practical support to help individuals sustain a good quality of life and negotiate complex social and health care systems.

The elements of PACT treatment are:

• Psychopharmacological treatment,
• Individual supportive therapy,
• Substance abuse treatment,
• Crisis intervention,
• Psychiatric hospitalization.

Rehabilitation services include assistance with:

• Employment and structuring time,
• Activities of daily living,
• Social and interpersonal relationships, and
• Use of leisure time.

Support services include:

• Advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, direct assistance, training, and supervision to help the client obtain and maintain resources needed to maintain community tenure, good quality of life, and achievement of personal goals.

The program serves adults in the Tri-city area (Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell), as well as in surrounding counties served by the District 19 Community Services Board, to include Prince George, Dinwiddie, Sussex, Surry, and Emporia.

(Program description adapted from: Allness, D. & Knoedler, W. (1998). A Manual for PACT Start-Up. Arlington, VA: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.)