Intensive Adult Services within Adult Mental Health Program

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This program strives to instill wellness to individuals living in the community.

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About this program

Beginning July 1, 2025, the State of Vermont will retire its Community Rehabilitation and Treatment (CRT) Program – a longstanding support system for adults experiencing significant mental health challenges. Individuals previously served through CRT will continue to receive services they need but will now be eligible for coverage for services through an enhanced benefit, TPL-63, which will be provided through Intensive Adult Services as part of our Adult Mental Health Program continuum.

Intensive Adult Services assists individuals with mental health issues in achieving and sustaining the highest quality of life consistent with their abilities, needs, personal ambitions, and available resources. The program strives to instill wellness to individuals living in the community.

To ensure that individuals in the IAS program are treated with dignity and respect, provided opportunities to work, learn, have recreational opportunities, and live in the community based on their personal choices
To ensure that services provided are individualized and emphasize health, wellness, and recovery
To ensure wherever possible, services be used that are based on evidence-based treatment models
To ensure that treatment goals are directed by the individual
To teach individuals how to handle the stressors they face in life
To minimize the usage of psychiatric hospitalizations
To minimize the usage of involuntary treatment, either in the inpatient or outpatient settings
To identify all diagnoses, both mental illness and substance use, and to treat both concurrently and within the same treatment team
To provide an understanding of mental illness, of medications, and of feelings
To support individuals in gaining self-confidence to improve their living situation

The Intensive Adult Services Program serves adults, 18 years and older, who meet the specific eligibility criteria set forth by the Vermont Department of Mental Health. The criteria must be met in three categories: diagnostic criteria, recent treatment history and level of impaired role functioning. Although persons with a primary diagnosis of Developmental Disability, head injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, or Organic Brain Syndrome frequently have similar treatment needs, they are not included in this definition.

Most clinical services are available to all clients in the IAS Program if they are clinically indicated by the individualized service plan developed in collaboration between the client and the treatment team. All IAS clients, regardless of need, are assigned to a primary case manager and are seen at least yearly by a member of the medical team.

Case Management, Outreach

Community-based supports
Social support services/socialization skills
Assistance with activities of daily living
Community integration
Assistance with accessing medical and dental services

Service Planning and Coordination

Assistance with acquiring benefits and the application process
Payeeship services
Housing support services
Difficulty of Care Program and Wellness

Recovery and Wellness Groups

Women’s group, writing group, art group, cooking group, health and nutrition group, fitness group, gardening group, walking group

Additional Services

Psychiatric Evaluation, Medication Review and Monitoring
Individual Counseling
Peer Supports
Emergency Services

Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment: Individual and Group
Dialectical Behavioral Treatment Programming (DBT)
Recovery Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R)
Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) programming
Individual Placement and Supports (IPS) model for Vocational Services
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Vocational Services

The agency’s Supported Employment program uses an evidence-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model, focusing on the strengths, talents, skills and preferences of adults within our Intensive Adult Services Program. Using this concept, Vocational Staff works with clients to identify, achieve, and maintain goals, including paid employment. Vocational services offered to IAS individuals include:

Assistance with preparing for employment
Assistance with accessing educational & training segues to work opportunities
Aid with job development
Collaboration with community businesses & employers
Benefits counseling to understand how earned wages affect benefit grant amounts
Assistance with on-going job support

Wellness Program

The Adult Mental Health program embraces the philosophy that physical health is an important component of overall health. Clients are encouraged to engage in activities that promote physical as well as mental health. All members of the AMH team work to assist clients to identify measures to decrease physical risk factors and to engage in activities that promote physical health.

Within the Adult Mental Health Wellness Program there are four levels of care: individual, group, program and community.

The program has a designated nurse who works to promote physical health on 4 levels:

1. On an individual level:

Personalized health coaching
Diet and exercise planning
Wellness plan development
Social integration in the community

2. On A Group Level:

Social integration fitness groups- VTC, walking group
Health and nutritional support
Smoking cessation supports

3. On A Program Level:

Coordination of Wellness Plan with Case Managers and support staff
Provide education on health issues
Assist in coordinating health activities.

4. On A Community Level:

Coordination with other heath care providers in the community
Advocate for client to promote wellness
Communicate regarding health needs of clients
Foster an integrated approach to wellness for AMH clients.

Memorial Gardens

The memorial garden at 24 South Main Street in Randolph, began many years ago as a way to remember clients and friends that are no longer with us. Every year a ceremony is held to remember those that have passed and commemorate their lasting impacts on lives in the community. The ceremony is an open space for all clients, family, staff and community members who wish to join.

The Rachel Emerson Memorial Garden at the Bradford Farmhouse was created and dedicated in 2024 in remembrance of a much loved CMC staff member in recognition of her devotion of over 30 years to provide compassionate mental health care to residents of Orange County through her work on Emergency Services, Access, supporting other programs and providing mentorship to new staff as they grew at the agency.