Specialty Interventions

Behavioral Health Clinical Intermediary

The primary role of the Clinical Intermediary is to help persons who are financially or otherwise responsible for another with a serious behavioral health (substance use and/or mental illness) disorder to understand the processes (what is going on), progress (how well is the client progressing in this treatment program) and prognoses (such as likely post-treatment outcomes and possible less intensive interventions that will promote resilience and avoid relapse) of such disorders.

Treatment settings for persons with serious and persistent substance use disorders (alcoholism and drug addiction) range from homeless shelters and other free clinics to beachside mansions where a month of care can top $2,000 a day.

Parents, spouses and siblings of persons in any of these settings are often shielded from progress reports due to legal – and generally beneficial - confidentially requirements imposed on the programs.  

In cases where family members are financially responsible - in whole or part - for the costs of substance use and/or mental illness treatment and rehabilitation, as well as general financial support post treatment, the lack of reports on the progress and prognosis of the person in treatment can be frustrating, especially when the treatment center is in another City or State.  

In other cases, payors are not in a position to best understand progress reports that are received either because of competing demands on their time and attention, or because they lack the expertise to properly interpret what the reports mean.

Finally, some payors have reached a point of frustration concerning their addicted/mentally ill child, spouse of sibling, especially after several treatment center admissions and subsequent relapses, and benefit from the objectivity of a qualified third party to help understand the current situation, the course of treatment and post-treatment expectations.  This is the role of the Clinical Intermediary.

His 50+ years of experience as a behavioral health clinician, Statewide and community treatment program executive, clinical service regulator and researcher has well positioned Dr. Paul Ahr to serve as your Behavioral Health Clinical Intermediary.

Inpatriate & Expatriate Adjustment

As corporations worldwide migrate toward multinational status, international business development often calls for the presence of inpatriates, foreign executives and technical specialists working for the corporation in the United States. It is estimated that the rate of unsuccessful foreign corporate assignments may approach 25%, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

In many cases, the primary reason for expatriate executives returning prematurely from overseas assignments has to do with adjustment problems experienced by the executive, his or her spouse/partner and/or children. A critical challenge for senior executives and human resource managers in corporations hosting inpatriates or deploying expatriates is how to successfully monitor, understand and successfully respond when either the transferring executive, his or her spouse and/or their children display signs of adjustment problems to the new setting.

When adjustment problems reach the threshold of possible clinical concerns, the challenge to the consultant is to determine whether the behavior in question has a clinical (mental illness or addiction) base or a cultural base.  Failure to promptly address and properly assess emerging adjustment problems in an inpatriate or his/her family member can lead to a painful setback for the executive and a costly expense for the corporation.

Clinical and Intercultural Psychologist, Paul R. Ahr, PhD. (Clinical Psychology), M.P.A., M.A. (International Affairs) brings his 50+ years of experience and expertise to address these issues for inpatriate and expatriate executives, their families and sponsors/employers.

Pre- and Post-Incarceration Coaching

According to the 1967 groundbreaking research of psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe, incarceration is the 4th most stressful life situation, ranked only behind death of a spouse, divorce and separation.  The stress experienced by the person who is incarcerated is also shared by his/her family members and other close associates.  Few experiences in life can properly prepare either for the strains of separation, judgment by others and/or economic hardships that typically accompany incarceration.

Since his work with family members of MIA and POW service personnel during the Vietnam War, Dr. Ahr has maintained a special interest in the psychological aspects of incarceration, especially its effects on family members.  Most recently he has been functioning as a Senior Clinical Psychologist in a men’s prison and a women’s prison in Missouri and Florida where he has evaluated and counseled several hundred inmates.

A by-product of this work has been the development of the Correctional Inmate Stressor Scale™ (CISS™). CISS™ is a 56 item inventory of the most common sources of stress (i.e., stressors) in a major correctional setting. Based on his research and practical clinical experience, Dr. Ahr is well suited to provide guidance to family members of incarcerated persons on ways to support their loved ones while in prison.

Use of CISS™ with inmates has also helped them identify areas of stressors over which they have control, helping them effectively target standard stress management techniques.