Behavioral Health for Case Management

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.

• 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.

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.