Rehabilitation Specialist Training

Project

The geography of the state of Texas presents unique challenges to the mental health providers charged with delivering services to poor and uninsured Texans with severe mental illness. Almost half of the population reside in large urban (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Fort Worth) and smaller metropolitan (Austin, El Paso) areas. The majority of the counties in the state are rural (146 out of 254 counties) varying greatly in population size. Fifty-nine counties in this state are considered “frontier,” that is, they have fewer than seven residents per square mile. The challenges of providing services to mental health consumers, given this geographic spread, are considerable. The concomitant challenges of finding and retaining quality workers to provide those mental health services are just as formidable.

An integral member of the service provision team is the Rehabilitation Specialist (RS), with a wide- ranging set of responsibilities focusing on the pragmatics that improve the quality of life for the individual with mental illness. The RS has responsibility for a variety of case management and direct service activities for the individual with mental illness, including assessment, training in daily living and independent living skills, supported housing, vocational counseling and job placement, training in communication skills, self care and medication management, training in community access and recreation skills and general community advocacy. Essentially, the RS is a "jack of all trades," particularly in rural and frontier areas, where low staff numbers preclude specialization. The skills and services provided by the RS are integral to the quality of life, health and adjustment of individuals with mental illness in the community, yet there is not a systematic way to deliver quality training to those persons providing this service. There has been a significant need in Texas to provide comprehensive state-of-the-art training to statewide RS staff using a best practices model of psychiatric rehabilitation. This project is beginning to address that need in a way that is both comprehensive and long term, and meets the identified statewide need for training.

The Rehabilitation Specialist Training Project (RSTP) is a comprehensive, Web-based model of staff training utilizing cost effective, interactive software to reach individuals in geographically dispersed areas. The training structure includes self-paced instructional modules, interactive modules with a focus on applying theory to practice, interactive modules focusing on skill development using videotape instructional strategies along with web based tools, and technical assistance in the form of individual consultation or on-site traditional training programs. The training has been divided into three levels of increasing complexity, and will be linked to a certification program.