But Trausch comes to the table with experience as a registered nurse. Trausch is there to help Sawicki live a life more like the one she used to know. Out of the hospital Every day, ACT team members visit clients like Sawicki who have debilitating mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression. Their diseases attack the brain, causing them to hear voices and smell smells and see things that aren't really there. They are left confused, disoriented and lethargic, sometimes unable to perform daily activities.
Medication helps, but only if they take it.
Without it, clients often return to the hospital and the cycle begins again. But with the ACT team, clients are treated, helped and evaluated where they live. The goal is to keep people like Sawicki out of the hospital and living on their own, but with the support they need to stay on track. Through it all, ACT team members evaluate everything the client does and says. Warning signs that symptoms are becoming more frequent are sometimes evident.