How to Use This Manual

Behavioral Health Aides/Practitioners (BHA/Ps) provide critical and ongoing services in rural and remote Alaskan locations, often with limited on-site resources or support. The Behavioral Health Aide Manual (BHAM) contains practical information to help you, as a BHA/P, provide behavioral health services in an Alaskan context.

The BHAM provides fundamental information and best practices for addressing many of the issues and concerns identified during client care visits. The BHAM is also intended as a guide for other providers who work with BHA/Ps; it will help providers to reinforce BHA/P training, reduce errors and confusion, and enhance BHA/Ps' confidence in service and treatment planning.

BHA/Ps are employed by regional Tribal Health Organizations (THOs) and work in diverse settings throughout Alaska. It is important for BHA/Ps to work closely with their clinical supervisors to understand how the BHAM can be applied to their scope of practice, organizational procedures, geographical location, and availability of local resources.

Note that some features of the BHAM may not work correctly in Safari. If you experience trouble using the BHAM in Safari, try Google Chrome or Internet Explorer.

The BHAM was created exclusively for the Behavioral Health Aide Program with input from Alaska Native BHA/Ps, BHA/P clinical supervisors, and clinical and content experts throughout the state.Grounded in Alaska Native ways of knowing, the manual recommends culturally and clinically appropriate services based on best practices adapted specifically for this Alaskan program.

This manual should not be used as a general medical reference, a self-teaching tool, or a guide for practicing outside of your training or certification level. Instead, the BHAM should be used to complement your training and assist you in providing services according to your organization’s policies and procedures.

This manual has been divided into six sections.

Introduction: History and background information about the Alaska Tribal Health System (ATHS) and the Behavioral Health Aide Program. This part also presents information about the importance of regular self-care and stress management for all BHA/Ps and their clients.

Professional Orientation: Fundamental information about legal and ethical concepts related to behavioral health services and clinical practices, including information about referrals, consent to treatment, confidentiality and release of information, mandatory reporting, risk management, supervision, and documentation.

Clinical Skills for Client Care: Information, guidelines, and best practices for understanding and working with diverse client populations, including information about lifespan development, healthy relationships, wellness, interventions, difficult clients, parenting, and elder care.

Client Care Chapters: Information and guidelines for understanding and treating a variety of mental health and substance abuse issues presented by children, adolescents, adults, and elders. Learn more about using these chapters by reviewing: How to Use the Client Care Chapters of the BHAM.

Overlapping Issues: An overview of and strategies for working with clients who have co-occuring diagnoses or overlapping medical and behavioral health problems. This section also includes chapters on medication management, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, involuntary commitment, problems with diminishing resources, foster care, and incarceration, as these topics often influence individual wellness and behavioral health.

Glossary: Definitions of terms used throughout the BHAM and a list of acronyms and what they mean.

The BHAM is a living document and is regularly reviewed for updates, edits, and additions. We welcome your feedback at any time on how we can further improve the BHAM as a resource for BHA/Ps. After your initial eBHAM training and periodically throughout the year, we will request feedback from you about your use of the BHAM and the information and guidance it provides. We welcome any and all feedback so we can ensure that the eBHAM provides you with the most current information and best practices for you in your role.

If you notice information that needs to be updated, email us at bhaprogram@anthc.org at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) with the section name and notes about the requested edits. Include "BHAM" or "Behavioral Health Aide Manual" in the subject line.