COA - Council On Accreditation

Outpatient Mental Health Services address mental health symptoms and associated functional impairments, help manage co-occurring health and substance use conditions that interact with and affect the mental health presentation, and provide support for psychosocial adjustments related to life cycle issues, including: birth and death; aging; marriage; divorce; parenting; intergenerational conflicts; and adult, child, and family relations.

Note: Outpatient Mental Health Services are distinct from Counseling, Support and Education Services (PA-CSE), which emphasize personal growth, development and situational change.

Note: Agencies providing only Diagnosis, Assessment, and Referral Services will complete PA-MH 1, PA-MH 2, PA-MH 4, PA-MH 8, PA-MH 9, and PA-MH 11.

Note: Agencies providing only Clinical Counseling Services will complete PA-MH 1, PA-MH 2, PA-MH 3, PA-MH 4, PA-MH 5, PA-MH 8, PA-MH 9, PA-MH 10, and PA-MH 11.

Note: Please see Self-Paced_Training: Outpatient Mental Health Services (MH) in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.

Research Note: Individuals receiving Outpatient Mental Health Services commonly have co-occurring mental health, substance use, medical, and other conditions that require attention within the context of mental health care. Outpatient mental health services should be designed and organized to address individual needs. Research indicates that co-occurring disorders are common and should be addressed routinely in core mental health services, not primarily through parallel collaborative services or specialized programs.


	PURPOSE: Individuals who receive Outpatient Mental Health Services that target goal-directed interventions for diagnosable conditions make gains in symptom reduction, improved self-management, and restored or enhanced daily functioning.

RELATED FILES

PA-MH Reference List.pdf
PA_MH Template.doc
NA Request.doc
PA-INT.Final.06.2012.pdf


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	IMPAIRMENT A loss or abnormality in physiological, psychological, or mental structure or functioning, such as paralysis of a limb, mental retardation, or blindness.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	DIAGNOSIS The process by which a social, physical, or mental health problem and its underlying cause are identified and a plan of action formulated toward resolution of the problem. The diagnostic process involves collection and analysis of relevant information. See also ASSESSMENT.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION