By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A new mental health court program in Ellis County has grown to the largest in the state since it launched in March.
Some of the 14 clients may be able to graduate soon, said Gina Anderson, NAMI peer representative on the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program team.
"We're seeing an increased number of participants who are following through and having success in maintaining recovery," Anderson said.
All of the clients in the program have chronic mental illnesses — usually bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. They have had difficulties maintaining stability in their recoveries. This could mean repeated hospitalizations, trips to the emergency room, run-ins with law enforcement, missing treatment appointments or inconsistently taking medication.
All of the participants in the program have a court order for mental health treatment. The participants meet with the treatment program team once a month during court hearings.
The team is made up of a judge, representatives of High Plains Mental Health Center, a National Alliance on Mental Illness peer support representative, an assistant county attorney and a defense attorney.
"I think it's really awesome how all of the different stakeholders have come together — the police department, the sheriff's department, corrections, the judge, the county attorney, the defense attorney — and are making things happen for these people," Anderson said.
"It's like watching a flower bloom."
Benito Riveria Madrid, assisted outpatient treatment liaison from High Plains Mental Health, gave the example of a person who he said he thought had been helped by the program.
The client was not taking medication consistently, had repeated psychiatric hospitalizations and interactions with law enforcement.
The client started with the court program in April. By the summer, the client began working with a treatment team at High Plains, started taking medication as prescribed and stayed sober.
"They have been engaging more in services," he said. "They went from not having anything to having a full treatment team and following through with everything.
"They are in corrections and have not failed a [uninary analysis] since mid-summer. That speaks volumes to that person's success."
Most of the clients in the Assisted Outpatient Treatment program are also part of the Assertive Community Treatment program at High Plains.
The aim of Assertive Community Treatment is to help individuals with chronic mental illness reduce psychiatric hospitalizations and contacts with law enforcement and increase access to outpatient services.
Members of the ACT meet with the clients usually four times a week. These members include a nurse, therapist, peer specialist and case worker.
The program also seeks to help clients to achieve their personal goals, such as gaining employment, finding better housing and using community resources.
"We're providing an evidence-based practice that is proven to help those folks who have disengaged from services to receive the treatment that they are needing," Jessica Sherfick, assistant clinical director for community support services for High Plains Mental Health.
"Through ACT, they are receiving very intensive psychotherapy and rehabilitative case management. It is really focused on alleviating symptoms, working toward treatment plan objectives and goals that are set by our clients."
Anderson said she is seeing more understanding coming from law enforcement.
Sgt. Brandon Hauptman of the Hays Police Department patrol division said law enforcement often has contact with people who are in crisis, but there has been a disconnect in getting that information to the court.
"We're interested in reducing the law enforcement contacts because we want to get them to the better services rather than a distribution in their lives or the public," he said.
He added, "This is about guiding them to treatment and improving their lives."
The police department has a list of everyone who is in the AOT program. If an officer has contact with a person in the program, the department tries to keep track of the outcome of that interaction.
In this way, the department can let the next officer know what tactics were successful in helping de-escalate incidents.
Hauptman gave examples. Some individuals like to have family members involved if they are struggling. Others don't. Some people connect well with a certain therapist or friend.
"If we have 30 officers and we are not communicating, we are not doing as well as we can."
Hauptman sees AOT as being a preventive program.
"I am so excited to have this information and have a better guide," he said. "Instead of it having to be a full-blown crisis before we can do something. We can hopefully get there before that crisis.
"That's fantastic. Let's prevent the fight or the crisis or the suicide attempt. Let's get some intervention."
Before AOT, Hauptman said law enforcement officers didn't have a lot of options to help individuals with chronic mental illnesses, especially in western Kansas. A person suffering from a mental health crisis might end up in jail for a criminal violation connected to their crisis.
"This is just a great opportunity for us to talk about this together to better help these individuals rather them ending up in jail," he said. "We don't want criminalize mental health issues."
Anderson said the team also works with screeners for the state mental hospitals and can provide background on the clients in the AOT program.
"They'll know if it's a hiccup or whether the bridge collapsed," she said.
Riveria Madrid said the program helps maintain these community members in a safe environment in the least restrictive setting.
"We want to give them a fruitful way of life," he said. "If they are interested in working, that's our goal. ... We wrap around them, truly, to improve quality of life."
Many of the clients had trepidation about the process but are starting to engage more with the AOT team and understand how their participation can give them a voice in their own treatment, Anderson said.
As a peer, Anderson said she feels a great reward from participating in the program.
"Those court days can be hours long, but I come away from them so exhilarated," she said. "We are not putting people in cuffs. We're not sending them to Larned. We're giving them hope, and they're grasping what recovery is all about.
"I think the most positive thing is that we are talking about recovery. We're not talking about their illness. What are you doing in recovery—positive. This is where you're headed."
Anderson said she thinks having a peer in the room helps clients.
"I can say I have a mental illness, and this is what I have to do every day in my recovery," she said.
The program also encourages family members to be involved, Anderson said. Support for family members is provided by NAMI.
"I have gone out and sat with parents who were distraught because they didn't know what was going to happen to their child," she said. ...
"Parents who have gone through this with their [adult] children, they are tired. They're worn out. Some of them lack hope. That's where NAMI comes in and lets them know if they can let go a little bit and let the judge and the mental health center do their part and NAMI help you on the family side, we can build this structure that needs to be built."
In February, NAMI also will offer an educational program to the AOT clients as well as their friends and family members.
Anderson said the AOT and ACT programs are serving clients with the most critical needs. She said she could see the services growing, but more mental health workers would be needed to expand it further.
The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program is being funded through grants from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. The program only is being piloted in a handful of counties in Kansas.
Cover photo courtesy of Pixabay