Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in Brief

Course Details

Course Description

This course explores assertive community treatment (ACT), which has been a leading model of community mental health services since its development during the latter half of the 20th century. ACT has been used to effectively reduce hospitalizations, improve housing stability, and promote client engagement and satisfaction. The full ACT model was developed to serve individuals with serious mental illness; however, the key principles of ACT have become key components of public mental health service systems in the United States and in other countries as well. The course addresses ACT structures and service functions, core components and limitations, as well as case documentation that reflects the use of ACT. To complete the course, participants read online content that incorporates a case vignette and related exercise and a short video clip. The online posttest must be passed with a score of 80% or better to print a certificate of completion.

Target Audience

This information is relevant to introducing psychotherapists at all levels of experience to a deeper understanding of the strategies and techniques of ACT in community mental health and how to demonstrate the use of ACT in clinical documentation.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, readers will be able to do the following:

Distinguish the method of assertive community treatment (ACT) from simply providing good quality case management services.
Describe how an ACT program is structured and the functions it is designed to serve.
Identify both benefits and limitations of the ACT model.
Write clinical documentation that demonstrates proper use of ACT.