Behavioral Services Part 2 - Behavioral Treatment Committee
For all persons, behaviors can change at the drop of a hat. In the same respect, the science on how to treat behavior concerns must continue to evolve with the times.
In the second part of our series on SCCMHA’s behavioral treatment, we take a look at the Behavioral Treatment Committee, how they work with our team, develop plans and implement them for persons served.
The focus of the Behavior Treatment Committee (BTC) is to review the behavior treatment plans developed by SCCMHA’s behavior services team.
Before submission, the behavior services team will try several different strategies with the person served, collecting information and reaction from staff, families and the person themselves.
“We look to find how we can meet their needs,” said SCCMHA Psychologist Evan Koehn. “Once we have an idea in place, we can come up with a positive support plan.”
The team looks at previous interventions to determine what does and does not work in their development of the plan and once a decision is made, the plan is given to the BTC to approve and implement.
The BTC makes their approvals based on the standards set by the State of Michigan, as well as collecting the data to support the implementation of the plans submitted.
Plans are approved for a 90-day period, in which further data is collected, then brought back to the BTC to show if the plan is working.
Psychologist Heidi Wale Knizacky of Apprecots Applied Research Consultants serves on the BTC to assess these plans.
“Behavior is about recovery and growth,” Heidi said. “Sometimes the individual isn’t responding the positive support and changes need to be made.”
In some instances, the BTC serves as an interdisciplinary body for any behavioral concerns with the individual in question.
When called for interdisciplinary meetings, the person who wrote the plan, the case worker, involved staff, and occasionally, even the person in question, are called to discuss the treatment plans and results from them.
The focus of these meetings is to find ways to adjust the plan to better suit the person served and yield positive results.
However, these meetings are not called to discipline or punish the person served, but rather to change or improve on the plan to ensure the person is having their needs met.
Data collecting is an important aspect to work with the BTC, as they make decisions on the further implementation of the behavior treatment plans. Policies are individualized to the person served and the plans can be renewed as many times as needed.
“Since these programs have been put in place, we’ve seen the number of plans that have been restrictive or intrusive have gone down substantially,” Heidi said.