Calvert County Health Department

Terms and Definitions

Administrative Service Organization (ASO) 
A company hired by the state to manage payment of claims for certain public mental health services. Functions of the ASO are: Access to service; Utilization management; Claims processing and payment; Data collection and management information services and Public information and training services.

Behavioral healthcare  
Continuum of services for individuals at risk of, or suffering from, mental, addictive, or other behavioral health disorders.

Case management  
A service that helps people arrange for appropriate services and supports. A case manager coordinates mental health, social work, educational, health, vocational, transportation, advocacy, respite care, and recreational services, as needed. The case manager makes sure that the changing needs of the individual are met.

Crisis Bed Services
Short-term, round-the-clock help provided in a nonhospital setting during a crisis. The purpose of this care are to avoid inpatient hospitalization, help stabilize the individual, provide additional support after hospitaliztion and determine the next appropriate step.

Day treatment
The adolescent psychiatric day treatment program treats teens 13-18 years old who have psychiatric, emotional or behavioral problems, or developmental delays severe enough to significantly impair family, social or school life.
Adult partial hospitalization program treats patients age 17 (if not in school) and up with severe psychiatric symptoms that interfere with daily functioning.

Day treatment includes special education, counseling, parent training, vocational training, skill building, crisis intervention, and recreational therapy. It lasts at least 4 hours a day. Day treatment programs work in conjunction with mental health, recreation, and education organizations and may even be provided by them.

Depression  
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by intense feelings of sadness that persist beyond a few weeks. Two neurotransmitters-natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another-are implicated in depression: serotonin and norepinephrine.

Drop-in Center  
A social club offering peer support and flexible schedule of activities: may operate on evenings and/ weekends.

Dually Diagnosed  
A person who has both an alcohol or drug problem and an emotional/psychiatric problem is said to have a dual diagnosis. Persons with both developmental disabilities and an emotional/psychiatric problem are also considered Dually Diagnosed.

Emergency and crisis bed services  
A group of services that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help during a mental health emergency. Examples include telephone crisis hotlines, suicide hotlines, crisis counseling, crisis residential treatment services, crisis outreach teams, and crisis respite care.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)  
This 1996 act provides protections for consumers in group health insurance plans. HIPAA prevents health plans from excluding health coverage of pre-existing conditions and discriminating on the basis of health status.

In-Home Intervention Program – Adults
IHIP consists of therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing costly admissions to hospitals by providing individualized, coordinated and appropriate services in the community.

In Home Intervention Program – Child and Adolescent
Mental health treatment and support services offered to children and adolescents with mental illness and to their family members in their own homes or apartments.

Inpatient hospitalization Mental health treatment provided in a hospital setting 24 hours a day. Inpatient hospitalization provides: (1) short-term treatment in cases where an individual is in crisis and possibly a danger to his/herself or others, and (2) diagnosis and treatment when the patient cannot be evaluated or treated appropriately in an outpatient setting.

MHA Administration  
Activities related to the planning, organization, management, funding, and oversight of mental health service delivery within the Public Mental Health System.

Outpatient Mental Health Clinics
Outpatient Mental Health Services provide a comprehensive array of mental health services which may include:  Diagnostic Evaluation; Individual, Family, and Group Therapy; Medical Management and Psychological Testing.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that develops as a result of witnessing or experiencing a traumatic occurrence, especially life threatening events. PTSD can cause can interfere with a person's ability to hold a job or to develop intimate relationships with others.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program prevents the institutionalization of mentally ill clients through the development and implementation of flexible client centered programs designed to assist the client in living an active and productive life within their community.

Residential Rehabilitation Program
Service is for adults who need supervised housing while they are working on their mental health and personal goals.  The level of support is offered on a flexible drop-in basis.  Individuals must qualify on the basis of psychiatric need. 

Residential Services
Services provided over a 24-hour period or any portion of the day which a patient resided, on an on-going basis, in a State facility or other facility and received treatment.

Schizophrenia  
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by "positive" and "negative" symptoms. Psychotic, or positive, symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking (apparent from a person's fragmented, disconnected and sometimes nonsensical speech). Negative symptoms include social withdrawal, extreme apathy, diminished motivation, and blunted emotional expression.

Supported Employment  
Supportive services that include assisting individuals in finding work; assessing individuals' skills, attitudes, behaviors, and interest relevant to work; providing vocational rehabilitation and/or other training; and providing work opportunities. Includes transitional and supported employment services.

Therapeutic Group Homes
For adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, the therapeutic group home provides an environment conducive to learning social and psychological skills. These homes have been developed primarily for children under the care of juvenile justice or social welfare.

This intervention is provided by specially trained staff in homes located in the community, where local schools can be attended. Each home typically serves 5 to 10 clients and provides an array of therapeutic interventions. Although the types and combinations of treatment vary, individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and behavior modification are usually included.

Therapeutic Foster Care
Treatment Foster Care Program is a structured, community-based, therapeutic foster care program which provides therapeutic services primarily to school age children between the ages of 5 and 17 years old who are experiencing serious emotional and/or behavioral problems at home, in school or elsewhere in the local community. Youth live in the private homes of trained and licensed Professional Treatment Parents. These families are committed to helping the youth to resolve his or her problems. Treatment Foster Care offers a comprehensive array of services including individual and family therapy by a licensed mental health therapist, educational and vocational advocacy, and recreational experiences designed to promote personal growth and responsibility.