Center for Practice Innovations > Initiatives > ACT Assertive Community Treatment

Learn more about The ACT Institute

What is The ACT Institute?

The ACT Institute provides training, support, and consultation to Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) providers across New York State. Our training curriculum is based on national evidence-based practice consortium standards and modifications to these standards as developed by the Office of Mental Health. Training is delivered via in-person and distance-learning modalities. Our trainers include both staff of the Center for Practice Innovations and other expert consultants.

For more information about the ACT Institute, please contact us at ACTinst@nyspi.columbia.edu

Interested in an Internship or Volunteering?

Contact: ACTinst@nyspi.columbia.edu

News Briefs

Virtual Meet-Up: ACTion Toward Anti-Racist Practice

Thank you to all who attended the ACT Virtual Meet Up!

Our program focused on supporting ACT providers in identifying and enacting strategies to advance the ACT model towards an Anti-Racist Practice and addressing the challenges in service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. 41 ACT providers joined from the 108 ACT teams all over New York State.

2021 Happy New Year: Onward and Upward

The surge of events throughout 2020, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year, caused much uncertainty and fear worldwide, ending with millions of deaths. In addition to this, the resurgence of racial unrest after the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, and countless others, elicited a serious assessment of policing in BIPOC communities. 2020 reinvigorated mass movements to dismantle white supremacy structures, as these permeate within every system - including medical and behavioral health.

SPACT 4th Annual Meeting

On Thursday, September 17th, the NYC OMH field office and CPI/ACT Institute hosted the 4th Shelter ACT Teams’ Annual Meeting. This year, 194 ACT and shelter providers attended. As most meetings this year, the SPACT meeting used a virtual format. Although we missed seeing everyone in person and the usual informal ways to catch up with one another, it also allowed many more people to participate.

ACT Town Hall: Reconceptualizing the Delivery of ACT in our New, Challenging Environment

During the months of June, July, and August of 2020, the ACT Institute at the Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) hosted a series of virtual Town Halls for all assertive community treatment (ACT) providers in New York State (NYS). The original purpose of the Town Hall series was to discuss the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on ACT providers, ACT participants, and the overall delivery of ACT services. However, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery (among others), incidents of police brutality, the ensuing protests and social unrest, and the national reckoning of the legacy of anti-Black racism and White supremacy in the United States caused the ACT Institute to broaden the scope of the Town Halls to include the impact that these events have had on the ACT model of care and on ACT providers and participants. The three Town Halls took place virtually on Adobe Connect on June 6, 2020 (56 participants), July 14. 2020 (34 participants), and August 11, 2020 (26 participants) with a total of 116 participants.

Howie the Harp Graduate, Kyle Williams, Reflects on Working with the ACT Institute

The ACT Institute was deeply privileged to host 2 Howie the Harp Interns from February through April of this year. Kyle Williams & Orlando Nunez brought their skills, perspectives and compassion to their NYSPI internship and the ACT Institute is eternally grateful to them. They were active participants in ACT Institute planning and hosted a series of Peer Specialist Support calls, pulling from their own lived experience, their educational process through Howie the Harp, and all they learned from their time working on the NYSPI inpatient unit.

Acknowledging Social Disparities During COVID-19 Pandemic

The recent COVID 19 pandemic has sparked many incidents of racism against the Asian community and continued racism against black and brown people via healthcare disparities and law enforcement. Undoing Racism work has many facets and is inclusive of all groups who are oppressed, marginalized and stigmatized base of their race, ethnicity, and gender/gender identity.

Two Queens New York City ACT Team Leaders Talk About Their Experiences in Providing ACT Services During the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

At the New York City Team Leader Meeting on May 18th, 2020, Evelyn Barbosa-Euell, Senior Program Specialist, Health Services Manager, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, asked Anthoy Phillips and Michelle Scantelbury, two ACT Team Leaders, to present how their teams were faring during this unprecedented time. Both teams are located in Queens, New York - one of the hardest hit areas.

INSPIRING US ALL – HAPPY NATIONAL NURSES’ WEEK!

We celebrate National Nurses’ Week beginning on Wednesday, May 6th through Tuesday, May 12th.

While the ACT Institute acknowledges and greatly appreciates all the work nurses do day in and day out working with participants in the field, this year requires a special acknowledgment. We want to extent our gratitude for the outstanding work that nurses do for people who need both physical and mental health services. The ACT nurses’ service and perseverance in these unprecedented, challenging times exemplifies the nurses’ dedication to their work and to the people whom they serve.

A Year in Review: Reflections on NYU MSW Interns Field Placement at ACT Institute Written by Heesu Rachel Chae and Ana Lanas

Over the past year, the ACT Institute had the pleasure of hosting two second-year Social Work interns from New York University, Heesu Rachel Chae and Ana Lanas. The MSW interns were assigned different tasks based on their area of interests and self-determined learning objectives, allowing an opportunity for valuable learning and working experience to help them in their future careers as social work advocates and leaders. Heesu and Ana reflected on the experience of working ACT Institute and all the ACT teams in New York State and took the opportunity to thank the ACT Institute staff and leadership for their guidance and support and reflect on their individual experiences as they prepare to graduate and move forward in the field.

COVID-19 Resource News Brief

Dear ACT Providers,

During this difficult time of the COVID-19 crises, we would like to countinue to offer our support to you and your team. Please contact us at ACTinst@nyspi.columbia.edu with any questions or concerns, and we will do our best to assist you as soon as possible.

For OMH Guidance Documents for COVID-19, please visit https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/guidance. The Resource Guide below also provides additional resources relevant for ACT Services.