Clinical Offerings

Technical Assistance Program

The goal of the Technical Assistance Program is to Enhance Community Capacity in Psychiatric Services to Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and Psychiatric Disorders.

Technical assistance will enhance community capacity by offering service providers and families’ information and educational offerings designed to assess and treat individuals with developmental disabilities who also have psychiatric disorders as a diagnosis

In general, this program is designed to assist individuals whose psychiatric disorder and or challenging behavior is to the extent that it interferes with the person’s ability to function, places the individual at risk of losing their living or work environment, and/or prevents one from achieving their maximum potential.  When left untreated, such conditions may result in needless suffering, acute psychiatric hospitalization, injury to self and others and loss of community placement. Recipients of care include individuals with dual diagnosis, paid personnel and family members.  Our educational offerings and curriculum use the least intrusive method possible. 

The Technical Assistance Program has been designed and funded through collaborative means by the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities. Currently, the program has limited funding, which enables approximately 40 interventions per year.  Each intervention typically includes one to two consultations with the individual, a comprehensive review of their environmental circumstance, and may include interviews with staff and/or family members. Following the initial review process, a report is generated that provides staff and family members with recommendations on how to address the maladaptive behavior and help locate additional resources that may be beneficial.  Presentations for specific individual problems are designed and presented to staff enabling them to better understand the cause and remedy for the maladaptive behavior.

Clinical resources for the Technical Assistance Program include faculty within the Division of Developmental Disabilities and includes licensed clinical social workers, psychologists and physicians with expertise in “dual diagnosis.”

Venue sites may include:

• SIU Medical School Campus, Springfield, Illinois
• Teleconferencing/telemedicine
• On site venues (Travel expenses will be incurred for all venues off campus)

 

Technical Assistance Curriculum, Information and
Educational Offerings

• Information about the psychiatric diagnosis based on the Diagnostic Criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-TR.  (DSM IV-TR). This information includes criteria of mental illness/psychiatric disorders and behavioral observations that support the diagnosis.  Our experience shows that education about mental illness in this population can provide staff and family with a greater understanding about the person and can be beneficial in designing methods of intervention and interaction with the individual. Also important to this process is teaching and providing information about “myths” about mental illness and to discuss a value based approach in working with individuals with psychiatric disorders. Also of value is to know that some disorders and syndromes have specific maladaptive behaviors, which are evidence of the syndrome and need to be addressed through accurate diagnosis and treatment. Some of these include:
   
• Borderline Personality Disorders: an increasing number of individuals are presenting with this complex disorder and often these individuals cause numerous problems within the living situation. Specific diagnostic information, empathy techniques, environmental strategies, and crisis plan development is available. 
• Fragile X and Prader Willi: These are common diagnosis in the DD population that cause difficulty in the living and work environment often due to the behavioral phenotype that is significant with these diagnosis. Specific curriculum and information is available regarding these diagnoses.
   
• Pharmacological intervention: Provide family and direct care personnel information about prescribed psychotropic medication/s, including the intended effects, side effects and contraindications.
• Behavioral evaluation of maladaptive behavior: use of standardized analysis, staff interview, and observation of the individual.  Evaluation materials will be shared with the providers of care and will include a written report of results and/or recommendations. 
   
• Environmental strategies: to reduce maladaptive behaviors and to increase the quality of the individual’s life.
   
• Person Centered Planning: educational information about developing Person Centered Plans will be taught to providers and family specific to the assessed needs of the individual identified. These plans incorporate those persons who are essential to the well being of the person with the psychiatric disorder.  A community presence map is developed as well as activities that work and don’t work with the person 
   
• Crisis Plan development: educational information about developing crisis plans for individuals will be taught to providers using the information obtained from the psychiatric/behavioral evaluation, family members and other care providers.  Often an acute crisis is not handled well due to the fact that personnel have not identified the antecedents and or the actual steps to take given the resources available. A crisis plan will be developed to help identify the early warning signs (antecedents) of a crisis and outline what steps should be taken in the event of a crisis.  The actual delivery of crisis intervention must be delivered by the organization and its external supports systems.
   
• Information about Psychotherapy: teaching staff and family the benefit of therapy for the individual and the role of support persons in the individual’s life. Psychotherapy is a psychiatric intervention that can be offered to established SIU patients who live within a reasonable distance from the Springfield outpatient clinics
   
• Education to providers and families of persons who have autism, including communication and educational strategies
   
• Assessment tools for persons with developmental disabilities and who may have psychiatric disorders: tools regarding assessment for the presence of a psychiatric disorder and/or to elicit symptoms can be taught to psychiatric team members, including direct service personnel.  These tools can be helpful for diagnostic purposes and to assess progress
   
• Suicide information: Identifying symptoms of depression and suicide gestures for people with developmental disabilities is critically important to the care and safety of individuals with psychiatric disorders. Often staff and families are not aware that the person is capable of suicidal intent and or actions.  Curriculum is available to address this topic
   
• Sexuality Information: Information about healthy sexual development, harmful sexual practices, and intervention practices will be provided to staff and family
   
• “Aggression and or Self Injurious Behavior” Specific information regarding these behaviors, which may be a manifestation of an underlying psychiatric disorder or medical condition, can be taught to all providers of care and to family members.  It is important for staff, family, and individuals with developmental disabilities to understand that maladaptive behaviors may be the result of an underlying psychiatric disorder, medical condition, side effect to medications, communication intent or an emotional response. Some individuals may be taught how to recognize and self report problems while direct care staff and family members can be taught how to quantify, report, and intervene to reduce personally destructive behaviors
   
• Grief & Loss: information about the emotional consequences following a loss is taught to direct care staff and family members enabling them to better identify the grieving process in persons with developmental disabilities
   
• For more information regarding our Technical Assistance Program, please contact Carita Sandy Vicari. PhD, at (217) 545-8229 or by email at svicari@siumed.edu
   

Individual and Group Therapy

• The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Division of Developmental Disabilities is one of a few centers in the Country that offers comprehensive therapy opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. The program was developed by Lark Kirchner, LCSW, assistant professor, and has helped hundreds of individuals with dual mental retardation and other psychiatric conditions.
• Our current funding opportunity enables limited access to the therapy program; however, we maintain an active waiting list for those in need. For additional information regarding our individual and group therapy programs, please contact Dr. Sandra Vicari. PhD at (217) 545-3935 or by email at svicari@siumed.edu

 

[Home] [Faculty] [Clinical Offerings] [Technical Assistance] [Dual Diagnosis Clinic] [Admin. / Consultative] [Research Main] [Publications] [Presentations] [Education] [JDC] [Telehealth] [E-Newsletters] [Survey] [Links] [Affiliated Hospitals] [Employment] [Contact Us] [Site Map]

| SIU School of Medicine Home | Privacy Policy | Questions or Comments? E-mail the Webmaster |

Best viewed with Internet Explorer 6.x or higher and Netscape 7.x or higher @ 1024X768
Copyright (C) Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Division of Developmental Disabilities