CCBHC 101

CCBHCs – short for Comprehensive Community Behavioral Health Centers – are popping up across the country and within Montana.  These centers have been created with the prime goal of improving behavioral health of all citizens. CCBHCs provide community mental health and substance use services, increase access to care, collaborate efficiently with partnering primary health clinics, and rely on evidence-based treatment to support best practices in health care. With increased access to excellent, integrated care, CCBHCs are poised to improve behavioral health in our communities. 

CCBHCs might be new to you, but they were first conceived in 2014 when the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) was signed into law.  As with all legislation, PAMA outlined the specific areas that these centers had to meet.  As CCBHCs began to appear across the nation, they worked to “demonstrate” the effectiveness and efficiency of this new model of care.   

AWARE is excited to be the recipient of a four-year, $4 million Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) grant to create a CCBHC clinic in Lewis and Clark County.  Our Helena CCBHC Clinic is actively serving people and working to ensure citizens have access to behavioral health care and support they need. For members of the Lewis and Clark community, the Helena Clinic offers a variety of services to help ensure that when someone seeks help, they can get help; regardless of age or ability to pay.  

The Helena Clinic strives to ensure that everyone who seeks care feels confident they've come to the right place. The concept of “No Wrong Door” means the Helena Clinic will provide screening and assessment for people seeking care.  If the person’s needs are better met with a different provider, the team at the Helena Clinic will actively connect and support the person to the care they require. Care Coordination at the Helena Clinic is the hub that connects all aspects of care together and ensures continuity of care.  Even more important is AWARE’s culture of care that drives our strength-based, client and family driven care.  Our team members are well versed in models of care and a trauma informed perspective.  We build on strengths and take a whole-person, wraparound approach to care. 

Our team includes our Medical Director/ Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, registered nurses, Licensed Mental Health Clinicians, Licensed Addiction Counselors, Case Managers, Care Coordinators, Family Support Specialists, Peer Support Specialists, Administrative Assistants, and Team Managers and Directors. 

If this approach and level of expertise appeal to you, then the care options available at AWARE’s CCBHC in Helena will be interesting to note.  At the Helena Clinic, we offer outpatient behavioral health and substance use services that include: 

1. Access to Crisis Support  

2. Preliminary Screening, Assessment, and Diagnosis 

3. Person Centered and Family Centered Treatment Planning 

4. Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Services – including therapy and medication management  

5. Outpatient Primary Health Care Screening and Monitoring 

6. Targeted Case Management/ Care Coordination 

7. Support in Learning Skills for Healthier Living (Psychiatric Rehabilitation) 

8. Peer and Family Support 

9. Intensive Community Support for Veterans and members of the armed forces 

AWARE’s new Helena clinic is actively serving the community.  We welcome your calls for referral or interest as we continue to serve Lewis and Clark County. 

To learn more about AWARE’s CCBHC or to make a referral, visit www.Aware-inc.org/ccbhc.