Memphis, Tennessee’s Preferred Aftercare Treatment Program

Discharge planning begins at the time of a patient’s admission into treatment at our mental health rehab center. Throughout each patient’s initial assessment process, our assessment counselors will provide a thorough screening in order to determine what each patient’s specific needs and concerns are. The findings of these screenings are then communicated to the therapists who work with the patients so that appropriate interventions can be implemented. The therapists who are assigned to each patient will continually evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment interventions that take place during one’s time in their care so as to ensure that all therapeutic and pharmacological implementations are appropriately meeting the patient’s needs. This consistent monitoring will then be discussed as potential options for ongoing care and are explored once a patient’s time at our psychiatric rehab center nears an end. Members of the patients’ treatment teams will incorporate these recommendations into the patients’ current plans of care so that they can be continued into whatever aftercare plan is devised for them.

Post-discharge treatment plans and appropriate levels of follow-up care will be recommended in order to keep in accordance with the progress made during each man, woman, or adolescent’s time in inpatient treatment. These post-discharge plans will be presented to the patient in order to assure that the patient is in agreement with the fact that that plan will best meet his or her ongoing needs. In regards to adolescent patients, the post-discharge plans will be reviewed with not only the patient, but also with his or her parents or guardians as well.

Examples of possible levels of care that may be recommended as part of a patient’s continuing care plan following the completion of inpatient treatment may include:

• Partial hospitalization programs (PHP)
• Intensive outpatient programs (IOP)
• Weekly or biweekly individual counseling sessions with an outpatient therapist
• Medication management services with a psychiatrist
• Specialized intervention services
• Support groups
• Placement within assisted living environments
• Placement within nursing homes

For individuals who may be in need of more intensive care once they are stabilized within the inpatient program at our psychiatric rehab center, a referral to a residential treatment program may be made.

Due to the fact that so many individuals struggle with suicidal ideation, plagued by thoughts of ending their own lives, at Crestwyn Behavioral Health, we offer a thorough aftercare program that aims to help these individuals remain safe even after they have completed inpatient treatment at our center.

This program is based on the Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program (ASSIP) and offers multi-purpose contact beyond the doors of our mental health rehab center. The purposes of this program are outlined in the following:

• Patients can be supported after being discharged from Crestwyn’s inpatient treatment program.
• Staff members maintain a strong, positive connection with patients so that they know they are continually supported and have a place to turn should stresses arise.
• Participation in this program can help prevent a patient from being re-admitted into inpatient treatment.
• Participation in this program can also serve as a prelude for a patient’s engagement in various other future support programs, such as partial hospitalization programs (PHP), intensive outpatient programs (IOP), or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
• The program promotes research for important mental health issues, such as modes of intervention toward suicidality, which can lead to collaborative writing with hospital staff to submit to journals, magazines, and other valuable sources of literature.

Secure permission from patients is received in order for staff members to contact them after they have been discharged from our mental health rehab center for a period of up to 24 months in an attempt to make sure that they are doing well and are still successful in their recoveries.

Two business days after a patient has been discharged from Crestwyn Behavioral Health, he or she will be contacted by a business development representative or another assigned staff member. A post-discharge follow-up tool is utilized to help the staff members at our mental health rehab center be sure that they are following protocol in checking in on the welfare of patients. This tool includes the following topics:

• Customer service questions related to the services the patient received while receiving treatment at Crestwyn Behavioral Health
• Immediate encouragement for the patient to follow-through on the discharge plans that were devised for him or her
• Evaluation of the patient’s current mood and status
• Assessments for suicide risk
• Offerings of support and encouragement based on the particular ongoing needs of the patient
• Assisting the patient in maintaining participation in an “alumni” follow-up program

The road to recovery from mental illness, behavioral problems, and substance abuse concerns is not one that is traversed lightly. For this reason, the staff here at our mental health rehab center is dedicated to ensuring that continuing care services are comprehensive and meet the continual needs of patients so that detours on that road to healing can be bypassed and hope and healing remain within tangible reach.