Mental Health Skill Building

When Basic Living is not so Basic
This service is for adults and children in their late teens who suffer from mental illness and lack basic living skills, need connections to community resources and require help in managing their psychiatric symptoms.

What is MHSS?

Mental health skill-building service (MHSS) shall be defined as goal directed training to enable individuals to achieve and maintain community stability and independence in the most appropriate, least restrictive environment. MHSS shall include goal directed training in the following areas in order to qualify for reimbursement:

• Functional skills and appropriate behavior related to the individual’s health and safety;

• Instrumental activities of daily living (personal care activities including bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, grooming, hygiene, feeding, and eating; meal preparation, housekeeping, laundry, and managing money), and use of community resources;

• Assistance with medication management; and

• Monitoring of health, nutrition, and physical condition with goals towards self-monitoring and self-regulation of all of these activities.

Critical Features and Service Components:

MHSS is a long-term program that is reviewed by an LMHP, LMHP-R, LMHP-RP, or LMHP-S every 6 months to determine the continued need for service.

ADMISSION:

Individuals age 21 and over shall meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible to receive mental health skill-building services:

  • The individual must be diagnosed with at least one primary Axis I DSM diagnosis.
  • The individual shall require individualized training in acquiring basic living skills such as symptom management; adherence to psychiatric and medication treatment plans; development and appropriate use of social skills and personal support system; personal hygiene; food preparation; or money management.
  • The individual shall have a prior history of any of the following: psychiatric hospitalization; residential crisis stabilization, ICT or Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) services; placement in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (RTC Level C); or TDO pursuant to the Code of Virginia §37.2-809(B) evaluation as a result of decompensation related to serious mental illness.
  • The individual shall have had a prescription for anti-psychotic, mood stabilizing, or antidepressant medications within the 12 months prior to the assessment date.

Individuals eligible for this service may have a dual diagnosis of mental illness and developmental disability or mental illness and substance use disorder. If an individual has co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, integrated treatment for the substance use condition will be used to positively impact the mental health condition.

For more information or to schedule an assessment email us at info@lifestagescs.com or call our main line at (276) 632-2080