Therapeutic Behavioral Services
TBS Request for Services (Opens in new window)
TBS is a specialty mental health service. This service provides additional short-term support to children/youth with serious emotional problems who are experiencing a stressful transition or life crisis. TBS will assist them in their transition to a lower level of care, including the natural home or avoid moving to a higher level of care, including hospital or group home.
TBS is intended to supplement other specialty mental health services by addressing and resolving the targeted behavior/s or symptom/s that are jeopardizing their current living situation or planned transition to a lower level of care.
The purpose of TBS is to further the child/ youth’s overall treatment goals by providing “in home” additional therapeutic services during a short-term period. A treatment plan will be developed by the TBS team. Team members will include the parent/primary caregiver, lead clinician, TBS clinic supervisor and the youth, if appropriate. The team will identify problems to be targeted as well as the length of time and days per week that TBS will be provided.
TBS involves a one to one therapeutic intervention by a trained provider referred to as a TBS “coach”. The coach provides TBS in the home in order to be immediately available to intervene for a specified period of time, depending upon the needs of the child/youth. The TBS coach provides modeling, structure, support and immediate, frequent one-toone behavioral interventions, which assist the child/youth in changing or managing target behaviors. Seclusion of the child/ youth is not allowed as a component of Therapeutic Behavioral Services.
TBS will be decreased when indicated and discontinued when the identified plan for transition has been reached or when reasonable progress towards the behavioral benchmarks are not being achieved and are not reasonably expected in the clinical judgment of the Mental Health Plan’s provider to be achieved.
This service is intended to be short-term and time limited. Each mental health treatment plan that includes TBS must include a plan for transition. This plan will be developed by the team and should address assisting parents and /or caregivers with the skills and strategies to provide the family with continuity of care when TBS is discontinued.
Individualized behavioral interventions that are provided include support for and work with the parent/caregiver to assist them in providing a positive environment for the child/youth. Collaboration with other members of the mental health treatment team is also a primary component of this service.
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT AND TBS
The treatment plan that includes Therapeutic Behavioral Services is based on a comprehensive assessment of the child/youth and family, and will be developed with the family.
It must be reviewed at least monthly and revised as necessary to ensure that Therapeutic Behavioral Services continue to be effective. This review will always include the parent/caregiver and/or client as appropriate.
It is imperative that the parent work closely with the TBS coach and the clinician in order to learn new ways of managing problem behavior and ways of increasing the kinds of behavior that will allow your child/youth to achieve his or her treatment goals.
Since this is a short-term service, TBS must include a transition plan to decrease and/or discontinue Therapeutic Behavioral Services when they are no longer needed or appear to have reached a plateau in benefit effectiveness. This plan should address assisting parents/caregivers with the skills and strategies to provide continuity of care when this service is discontinued.
