Introduction of an intensive case management style of delivery for a new mental health service.
Mental health case management emerged in the 1960s in response to the shift in focus from inpatient to community care. Case management per se had been used by other service industries for some time previously, particularly those involved with people with intellectual disability. The term case management describes a range of service approaches and strategies in mental health rather than a single model of care. One method of delivering case management is with an intensive model of care. Intensive case management is differentiated from other forms of case management through factors like a smaller caseload size, team management, outreach emphasis, a decreased brokerage role, and an assertive approach to maintaining contact with clients. Research has demonstrated that case management, in particular, intensive case management, can improve clients' and families' experience of mental health services but only when introduced and used for appropriately targeted client populations and suitably resourced. Determining which model of case management best suits the client population and how to introduce it is a major challenge for any mental health service. With a focus on intensive case management, a review of this process is outlined.