Behavioral Health for Case Management - Blue Bayou Press

Behavioral Health for Case Management:

Advancing Wholistic Practice Excellence

By: Ellen Fink-Samnick DBH, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, CCM, CCTP, CRP, FCM

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Behavioral Health for Case Management: Advancing Wholistic Practice Excellence

By: Ellen Fink-Samnick DBH, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, CCM, CCTP, CRP, FCM

Behavioral Health for Case Management!

Behavioral health is a priority for society, especially case management. Case managers are increasingly faced with completing emergency psychiatric screenings, suicidal and homicidal assessments, and pre-admission assessment and review (PASRR) screens for patients being transferred to skilled nursing facilities.

They must be well-versed in quick screening for a range of mental health conditions from depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma to substance use and addiction. Knowledge of integrated care is crucial to define short-term interventions and SMART treatment goals for patients with chronic illness, particularly those diagnosed with comorbid physical and behavioral health issues.

Case management’s mandate is clear, whether you’ve had explicit education or training in behavioral health. Every case manager must have practical knowledge to ensure the ability to coordinate, facilitate, and deliver comprehensive and effective whole-person care. This synergy results in successful clinical, fiscal, and operational outcomes for every stakeholder across every touchpoint of care.

Behavioral Health for Case Management by Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick addresses the healthcare industry’s most compelling practice realities faced by case managers today, providing content on:

Definitions and terms distinguishing behavioral health, mental health, and mental illness
Payment models for current and emerging models of care delivery
Core quality measures
Regulatory requirements for discharge planning and care coordination
General assessment, mental status exams, and documentation principles
Screening tools for mental health conditions across developmental life stages and populations:

- Anxiety
- Chronic illness and pain
- Depression
- Integrated care
- Interpersonal violence
- Severe mental illness
- Substance use and misuse
- Suicidal ideation
- Trauma

Placement of patients with mental illness conditions
Management of aggressive behaviors and psychiatric emergencies
Health Equity and concordant care
Interviewing, Intervention, and short-term treatment
SMART goals for behavioral health treatment planning

Chapter Listing

Foreward
Preface

Section 1: Bolster Your Foundation

Chapter 1: Foundational Concepts
Chapter 2: Legislation, Funding, and Reimbursement
Chapter 3: Quality and Behavioral Health Measures

Section 2: Behavioral Health Conditions and Management

Chapter 4: Anxiety
Chapter 5: Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain
Chapter 6: Depression
Chapter 7: Interpersonal Violence
Chapter 8: Severe Mental Illness
Chapter 9: Substance Use and Misuse
Chapter 10: Suicidal and Homicidal Ideation and Intent
Chapter 11: Trauma

Section 3: The Treatment Process

Chapter 12: Managing Aggressive Behaviors and Psychiatric Emergencies
Chapter 13: General Assessment
Chapter 14: Interventions and Short-Term Treatment

Section 4: Behavioral Health’s Crystal Ball

Chapter 15: Case Scenarios and Content Application
Epilogue
Index

The publication is in Fall 2024!

Behavioral Health for Case Management!

Your seminal resource to guide population-based practice excellence!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from a small portion of qualifying purchases, which does not affect your price.

About the Author

Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning industry thought leader who empowers healthcare’s transdisciplinary workforce. Known and highly respected as ‘The Ethical Compass of Professional Case Management’, she is a sought out professional speaker and author with hundreds of offerings and publications to her credit.

Behavioral health shows up everywhere in case management—acute care, post-acute placement, chronic disease management, ED screenings, and transitions of care. Yet many case managers report they were never taught the practical “how” of behavioral health assessment, documentation, crisis response, or short-term intervention in a way that fits the pace and demands of real-world practice.

Behavioral Health for Case Management closes that gap.

Written for nurse case managers, social work case managers, and other case management professionals across settings, this authoritative desk reference and academic-ready text provides the tools, language, and structure you need to feel confident when you’re working with clients who have behavioral health diagnoses—even if behavioral health is not your primary specialty.

What you’ll be able to do with this book

Navigate behavioral health conversations using behavioral health conversation maps
Use clear, accurate behavioral health terminology (mental health, mental illness, and related definitions)
Strengthen your approach to assessment, mental status exams, and documentation
Apply practical screening guidance and tools across life stages and populations, including:
- anxiety, depression, trauma, suicidal ideation
- substance use and misuse
- severe mental illness
- chronic illness and pain, integrated care, interpersonal violence
Respond more effectively to agitation, aggressive behaviors, and psychiatric emergencies
Build short-term interventions and measurable care plans using SMART behavioral health treatment goals
Make safer, better-defended decisions for care coordination, discharge planning, and placement, including regulatory requirements and PASRR considerations for skilled nursing facility transfers
Understand how payment models, emerging care delivery approaches, and core quality measures shape behavioral health-related case management decisions

Case managers today are increasingly asked to complete emergency psychiatric screenings, suicide and homicide risk assessments, and PASRR-related processes—often under intense time pressure. This book equips you with practical guidance that supports whole-person care, improves coordination, and helps drive clinical, fiscal, and operational outcomes.

About the author

Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning educator, author, and healthcare entrepreneur known for her work in ethics, integrated care, interprofessional teams, quality, and trauma-directed practice. She is a faculty member, academic advisor, and IRB coordinator for Cummings Graduate Institute of Behavioral Health Studies.

Her honors include:

2025 Case Management Society of America (CMSA) Case Manager of the Year
2025 CMSA Foundation Research Award (with colleagues)
2016 CMSA Award of Service Excellence
2025 NASW of Virginia Lifetime Achievement Award
2022 NASW of Virginia Social Worker of the Year
2017 University at Buffalo School of Social Work Distinguished MSW Alumni Award

If you’re a case manager who needs practical, real-world behavioral health guidance you can use immediately, this is the book for you.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from a small portion of qualifying purchases, which does not affect your price.