MH SIG Meeting
Dand Time: Wednesday February 25, 2026, 6-7:30pm
Chairperson(s): Emily Walker, OT, OTR, Allyson Lewis, OT, OTR, Rosa Colorado, OT, OTR
Location: Zoom - to be sent out day before the event
Title: Community Mental Health: The ACCS Model & the Role of Occupational Therapy
Speaker: Amanda Cantrell, Rebecca Cohen, Jack Norcross
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS) model for adult community mental health services.
2. Describe the population served by ACCS.
3. Describe OT role and process in ACCS model
4. Explain the unique value OT adds to the ACCS model
Bio/Focus
Amanda Cantrell is an Occupational Therapist specializing in adult community-based mental health practice. Amanda has worked for Eliot Community Human Services in the Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS) program serving the North Shore region of MA since obtaining certification and licensure in 2022. Amanda earned her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from Boston University in 2021 and completed a capstone project focused on quality improvement within an ACCS program at Riverside Community Care. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Boston College, and has prior experience in psychology research at Boston College and direct inpatient psychiatric care at McLean Hospital.
Rebecca Cohen is an Occupational Therapist with focused professional interest in adult mental and behavioral health. Rebecca has trained and worked in inpatient settings serving adults with diverse psychiatric diagnoses, as well as co-occurring involvement with the legal and carceral systems. She joined Eliot Community Human Services in the Adult Clinic Community Clinical Services (ACCS) program serving the Metro North region of Massachusetts in 2025. Rebecca graduated from Tufts University (formerly the Boston School of Occupational Therapy) in 2024 with her entry-level OTD. In addition to her passion for supporting people living with serious mental illness, Rebecca is also interested in mentorship and clinical instruction of OT students.
Jack Norcross is the Occupational Therapy Manager at Eliot, overseeing the growth and development of occupational therapy services within Eliot’s Mental Health Division. There are currently 8 occupational therapists within this division (with several additional open positions for hire). Jack’s primary area of work is in community mental health, but he has also worked per diem in geriatric inpatient mental health for many years at Mount Auburn Hospital, as well as occasional per diem work on the adult inpatient psych unit at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. He has a small private practice working with children in home-based care who have significant behavioral health needs. He graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a capstone project focused on OT’s role in performing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
References
- Chow, W. S., & Priebe, S. (2013). Understanding psychiatric institutionalization: a conceptual review. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244x-13-169
- Eliot Community Human Services. (n.d.). Eliot Community Human Services. https://www.eliotchs.org/
- Erickson, B. (2021). Deinstitutionalization Through Optimism: The Community Mental Health Act of 1963. American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal, 16(4), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2021.160404
- Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. (2019). Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH). https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-mental-health
Of Note, Event registration closes at 4pm the day prior to the event, participants must register by Tuesday February 24th.