Sue Kocet| Beacon Light Behavioral Health System
The Dual Diagnosis Treatment Team (DDTT) is a service delivery model first created by the Behavioral Health Alliance of Rural Pennsylvania (BHARP). Beacon Light provides a DDTT program covering the central counties of Blair, Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lycoming, and Mifflin. The goal of the team is to treat adults dually diagnosed with a mental illness and an intellectual disability by keeping them in their homes and communities. The psychiatrist-led team of clinicians provides assessment, medication management, crisis intervention, integrated case management, and behavioral support planning to keep the individual from being hospitalized. The team works closely with Beacon Light’s Community Stabilization and Reintegration Unit (CSRU) in McClure, PA to assist individuals who may need short-term stabilization before or after their DDTT treatment.
The DDTT model has a maximum length of stay of 18 months, with a goal of achieving results within 12 months. Due to the integrated approach of treatment, which includes the individual and his/her family as well as state and county agencies, the team is comprised of highly skilled clinical and support staff, including: a psychiatrist, a program director, a behavior specialist, nurse, service coordinators, a consulting pharmacist, and administrative support.
DDTT is an intensive, specialized program that combines the best of both systems (Mental Health & Intellectual Disability) to address the complex needs of a challenging and underserved population. A highly trained team of clinicians with education and experience in both mental health and intellectual disabilities enables more comprehensive, integrated care. Low staff to consumer ratio ensures accessibility and frequent contact. After-hours response availability promotes community tenure and stabilization.
Admission to the program is for adults, 18 years or older, and must have an intellectual and developmental disability documented prior to age 18. Additionally, individuals must have a co-occurring mental illness as defined by the DSM-V, meet medical necessity criteria for Blended Case Management, be at-risk for losing current community placement (ex: inpatient hospital admission), have multiple behavioral health inpatient admissions within the last year, and have exhausted lower levels of care.
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