Equipping Behavioral Health Care Teams

Initial and ongoing staff training opportunities on treating tobacco use disorder and implementing a tobacco-free organizational policy are essential. Training can also dispel many misconceptions about treating tobacco use in behavioral health treatment.

Below are recommended resources with clickable links that focus on evidence-based practices, guidelines, and recommendations that are communicated in a clear, concise, and user-friendly way. These recommended resources are relevant for staff working in behavioral health settings:

Resource for Training   
Intended Audience
Developed By
About This Resource

An Implementation Toolkit for Statewide Tobacco Control Programs (2021)

Tobacco Control Program Staff working with Behavioral Health Program Staff
National Behavioral Health Network for Tobacco & Cancer Control
Provides practical, applied support for addressing the high rates of tobacco use among individuals in behavioral health settings and links to resources that outline the evidence, implementation considerations and tools for addressing how to best support tobacco cessation treatment services.
Enhance Your State’s Tobacco Cessation Efforts Among the Behavioral Health Population(2016)

 


Tobacco Control Program Staff working with Behavioral Health Program Staff
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / SAMHSA
Equips public health professionals with key talking points and tools to promote tobacco treatment services in behavioral health settings. Based on lessons learned from the SAMHSA/SCLC Leadership Academies for Wellness and Smoking Cessation Summits.
Ask, Advise, Refer to Quit Don't Switch (brief tobacco intervention training, 2020)
All healthcare professionals who may have direct patient contact and may initiate a brief tobacco intervention.
American Lung Association
The Ask, Advise, Refer to Quit Don’t Switch training is based on the CDC’s Ask–Advise–Refer model and utilizes updated tools and strategies for conducting an effective brief tobacco intervention with patients identified as tobacco users, including e-cigarettes. This one-hour, on-demand online course seeks to target healthcare professionals who may have direct patient contact and may initiate a brief tobacco intervention. This one-hour, on-demand virtual training comes with a certificate of completion. Tobacco Control Program Staff can share this foundational training with all levels of care team members – from administrative and front-office staff to clinical care providers.

A Patient-Centered Tobacco Cessation Workflow for Healthcare Clinics (2015)
General Care Team model
Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
This guide can be readily tailored to primary care, behavioral health, integrated care, hospital clinics, and other community healthcare settings.
Implementing Tobacco Cessation Programs in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Settings (2018)
SUD Treatment Program Directors and Clinicians
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / SAMHSA
This guide can help program directors and clinicians implement a tobacco treatment program for clients with substance use disorders.
Kansas Tobacco Guideline Behavioral Health Care Toolkit: Sample Assessment Tools, Pages 7-8 (2018)
Clinical Providers/Prescribers and other care team members that may be conducting a tobacco use assessment for treatment planning
NAMI Kansas
Includes information on Sample Assessment Tools, that can be helpful in equipping care teams to assess for tobacco treatment services. The sample assessment tools have been tested and validated for use with tobacco use disorder treatment.
Sustainable Education/Training Program Implementation Guide (2021)
Behavioral Health Center Staff, can also be relevant to other care settings and the general public
Taking Texas Tobacco Free

Includes recommendations, field-tested training curriculum and evaluation materials, and several appendices developed through the TTTF Training Program.

Quitline Programs Tailored for Mental Health: Initial Outcomes and Feasibility (2020)
Public Health Staff, Clinical Care Team and Administrators
Journal Article Authored by: C.Morris, et al. originally published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
This journal article can provide important information to make the case for integrating referrals to state quitline services, as a strategy to extend care for tobacco treatment in behavioral health settings.
Clinical Use Guidelines for all Pharmacotherapies Approved by the FDA For Tobacco Cessation
Clinical Providers/Prescribers in various settings.
Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Based on the Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update - Clinical Practice Guideline
Dimensions: Tobacco Free Toolkit for Healthcare Providers (2013)
Healthcare Providers, system administrators and other organization care staff.  
Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
This toolkit contains a variety of information and step-by-step instructions including education about tobacco use; skills for engaging individuals in tobacco treatment discussions, and info on treatment.
Toolkit to Address Tobacco Use In Behavioral Health Settings (2016)
Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Professionals  
American Lung Association
This toolkit includes information on screening, assessment and treatment; strategies for implementing organizational policies and information to increase utilization and referrals to services.

Peer support workers (also referred to as peer support providers and peer support specialists) are people who have been successful in the recovery process who help others experiencing similar situations. Through shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment, peer support workers help people become and stay engaged in the recovery process and reduce the likelihood of relapse. Peer support services can effectively extend the reach of treatment beyond the clinical setting into the everyday environment of those seeking a successful, sustained recovery process. Below are recommended resources, specific to peer support services: 

Resource for Training   
Intended Audience
Developed By
About This Resource
DIMENSIONS: Peer Support Program Toolkit (2015) Peer Specialists, Administrators, healthcare providers and support staff.
Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
The information in this toolkit speaks to the effectiveness of peer support programs, the important role peers can play in an organization and step-by step instructions to create a successful and sustainable peer support program. Note this toolkit is NOT specific to tobacco use disorder treatment, but is instead, a broader-scope overview of implementing peer support as an additional means of support for treatment in behavioral health settings.  
Core Competencies for Peer Workers in Behavioral Health Services (2018) 

 


Program and Facility administration, Supervisors and Public Health Staff promoting the use of Peer Services for tobacco treatment.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / SAMHSA
This resource can be used to inform peer training programs, assist in developing standards for certification, and inform job descriptions. Supervisors will be able to use competencies to appraise peer workers’ job performance and peers will be able to assess their own work performance and set goals for continued development of these competencies.
National Practice Guidelines for Peer Supporters (2012) 



Program and Facility administration, Supervisors and Public Health Staff promoting the use of Peer Services for tobacco treatment.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / SAMHSA
This resource provides an overview of the practice guidelines, identification and description of core competencies and ethical guidelines for peer supporters in behavioral health settings.

Page last updated: September 10, 2024

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