Implementing evidence-based practices for people with severe mental illness

Persons with severe mental illnesses (SMI) often lack access to effective treatments. The authors describe the Implementing Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) Project, designed to increase access for people with SMI to empirically supported interventions. The EBP Project aims to improve access through development of standardized implementation packages, created in collaboration with different stakeholders, including clinicians, consumers, family members, clinical supervisors, program leaders, and mental health authorities. The background and philosophy of the EBP Project are described, including the six EBPs identified for initial package development: collaborative psychopharmacology, assertive community treatment, family psychoeducation, supported employment, illness management and recovery skills, and integrated dual disorders treatment. The components of the implementation packages are described as well as the planned phases of the project. Improving access to EBPs for consumers with SMI may enhance outcomes in a cost-effective manner, helping them pursue their personal recovery goals with the support of professionals, family, and friends.     

Psychosocial aspects of substance abuse by clients with severe mental illness

As the literature on co-occurring substance abuse in persons with severe mental illnesses has evolved, emphasis on biologic and pharmacologic factors has diverted attention from important psychosocial issues. The authors review recent research showing that a) psychosocial risk factors may explain consistently high rates of substance abuse by these persons, b) substance abuse is for most clients a socio-environmental phenomenon embedded in interpersonal activities, and c) both natural recovery processes and effective treatments rely on developing new relationships, activities, coping strategies, and identities. Thus, psychosocial issues are critical in our attempts to understand and address substance abuse in this population.     

Outreach services to clients with severe mental illness in the Okayama Prefectural Mental Health and Welfare Center

The community mental health system in Japan is being adversely affected by diminishing public mental health services, including those provided by public healthcare centers and the mental health divisions of municipal governments. It seems reasonable to expect that this will lead to the inadequate detection, assessment, and treatment of the population with mental health problems, and thus to the flooding of psychiatric hospitals with excessive numbers of severely mentally ill patients. In this article, the author suggests the utility of a 'network-based outreach team' as a possible remedy for the current situation. The Okayama Prefectural Mental Health & Welfare Center is running a network-based outreach team on a trial basis to work with individuals with serious mental illness who are disengaged from mental health services. The team is composed of members from the Mental Health & Welfare Center, public mental health services, and human service agencies. The main aims of this team are two-fold: to enhance support for clients with severe mental illness who are overwhelmed with multiple complex problems, through collaborative intervention within the framework of a network-based outreach team; and to develop the qualities and skills of public mental health service and human agency personnel in order that they better assist people with severe mental illness, by providing joint training with mental health specialists of the Mental Health & Welfare Center in community settings. The author suggests that the team structure of the network-based outreach team will benefit public mental health services by reintegrating currently fragmented services into coordinated ones.     

Needs for services reported by adults with severe mental illness and HIV

This study examined the needs of people with severe mental illness and HIV. Results were based on interviews and CD4 counts of 294 individuals who received services from the Los Angeles County or the New York City public mental health system. Common unmet needs included financial assistance, housing, and mental health care. Thirty percent of the participants reported that they had at least one basic need that was not being met. Unmet need was less common as HIV infection advanced and was similar in frequency to that found in the general population with HIV. People with severe mental illness and HIV may be benefiting from the special resources that are available for people with HIV.     

The treatment relationship in peer-based and regular case management for clients with severe mental illness

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the quality of treatment relationships and engagement in peer-based and regular case management. It also assessed the value of positive relationship qualities in predicting motivation for and use of community-based services for persons with severe mental illness. METHODS: One hundred thirty-seven adults with severe mental illness participated in a 2x2 prospective longitudinal randomized clinical trial with two levels of case management intervention (peer and regular) and two interviews (six and 12 months). Self-report questionnaires assessed treatment relationships, motivation, and service use, and providers rated participants' initial engagement and monthly attendance in treatment. RESULTS: Participants perceived higher positive regard, understanding, and acceptance from peer providers rather than from regular providers at six months only, with initially unengaged clients showing more contacts with case managers in the peer condition and decreasing contacts in the regular condition. Six-month positive regard and understanding positively predicted 12-month treatment motivation for psychiatric, alcohol, and drug use problems and attendance at Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. CONCLUSIONS: Early in treatment, peer providers may possess distinctive skills in communicating positive regard, understanding, and acceptance to clients and a facility for increasing treatment participation among the most disengaged, leading to greater motivation for further treatment and use of peer-based community services. Findings strongly suggest that peer providers serve a valued role in quickly forging therapeutic connections with persons typically considered to be among the most alienated from the health care service system.     

A clinical trial comparing interviewer and computer-assisted assessment among clients with severe mental illness

OBJECTIVE: Demographic, behavioral, and diagnostic information should routinely be collected from clients with severe mental illness, and data gathering should employ the most efficient techniques available. Surveys are increasingly conducted via Web-based computer-assisted interviewing (CAI), but this technique is not well validated for patients with severe mental illness. A randomized clinical trial of 245 clients was carried out to compare face-to face and computer-assisted interviewing (233 clients completed two surveys). METHODS: Self-report data were collected on demographic characteristics, substance abuse, risk behaviors for blood-borne diseases, trauma history, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Each client was assessed twice and randomly assigned to one of the four possible combinations of interviewer and computer (computer and computer, N=53; computer and interviewer, N=56; interviewer and computer, N=59; and interviewer and interviewer, N=65). The two formats were compared on feasibility, client preference, cost, reliability, convergent validity, and criterion validity. RESULTS: This study demonstrated the feasibility of CAI across a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. All participants who began the CAI process completed the interview and responded to over 95% of the survey items. Participants liked using the computers as well as they liked face-to-face interviews, and they completed the CAI as quickly. CAI produced data as reliable and valid as face-to-face interviews produced and was less expensive, and results were available more quickly. The two formats were similar in criterion validity. CONCLUSIONS: CAI appears to be a viable technology for gathering clinical data from the population with severe mental illness and for transforming such information into a useful, quickly accessible form to aid in clinical decision making.     

个案管理服务对社区重性精神疾病的效果

目的探讨个案管理服务对社区重性精神疾病的效果,为推进个案管理工作提供参考。方法选取2015年1月-2016年1月佛山市某社区参加个案管理服务的50例重性精神疾病患者为研究对象,采用量表(BPRS)、服药态度量表(DAI)和自制个案管理实施效果评估访谈表,评估个案管理服务的效果。结果参加个案管理后,患者及家人总满意度为85.26%,肇事肇祸为0,复发住院率下降了66.67%,就业率由参加前的8%提高到18%。结论个案管理服务可能有利于稳定社区重性精神疾病患者的病情,减少肇事肇祸发生率和复发住院率,提高就业率,提高家属的满意度及社会效益。     

How siblings of those with severe mental illness perceive services and support

This study examines the complex and varied effects associated with having a brother or sister with a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) on the lives of adult siblings without chronic disability. Through five focus group interviews, 19 participants were asked to describe the impact that having a brother or sister with mental illness had on their lives. Codes and categories derived from the text of the transcribed interviews were grouped into broad themes. The respondents described the manifestations and challenges of contending with the SPMI of an adult sibling. They focused on gaps in services and communication with mental health providers, particularly with regard to timing of interventions and identifying readiness for treatment, as well as their own mental health needs. The article concludes with a discussion of the increased need for exchange of information and clarity of communication among family members and providers, following best practice guidelines that are well documented but not well implemented.     

Underinsurance for severe mental illness

Mental health care for the severely mentally ill in the United States is financed by a combination of public and private funds. Both public and private health insurance programs handle mental illness differently than they do other illnesses. This article documents uninsurance and underinsurance for severe mental illness in the United States based on studies conducted during the last decade. The relationship between private insurance and public assistance is analyzed, and major arguments around equality in insurance coverage for severe mental illness are examined. Alternatives for reducing uninsurance and underinsurance for severe mental illness in order to avoid undertreatment are discussed.     

Parents with severe mental illness and their children: the need for human services integration

This article presents the findings and recommendations of a statewide interagency task force on parents with mental illness who have young children. Based on testimony from consumers, providers, and advocates, the task force concluded that this is a substantial and neglected public policy issue requiring an intergovernmental, services integration approach. Recommendations were made in the areas of services, policies and procedures, and service coordination.     

Skills training for people with severe mental illness

There is a growing empirical literature on psychosocial rehabilitation strategies for schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. Three of the best-supported and most promising approaches were reviewed: social skills training (SST), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and cognitive remediation (CR). Of the three, SST has the strongest empirical support and can be considered an evidence-based treatment. However, it is appropriate as a targeted treatment for social impairment, not as a broad based treatment for schizophrenia. CBT has only recently been applied to patients with psychotic disorders and the preliminary results are promising for reducing distress associated with residual psychotic symptoms. All but a handful of trials have been carried out in the context of the public health system in the UK with specially selected patients. Consequently, it is not yet clear if it would be effective in public health systems in the US, with highly impaired patients, or for patients with comorbid substance abuse. There is an extensive literature documenting that a variety of training techniques can improve performance on neuropsychological tests, and there is a growing literature of more clinically relevant CR trials that have produced small to medium effect sizes. No studies have yet demonstrated a clinically significant effect on community functioning. This is a promising area for further research, but CR, like CBT, does not have a sufficient evidentiary base for widespread dissemination to the public mental health system at this time.     

Implementing evidence-based practices for persons with severe mental illnesses

Extensive empirical research, summarized in several reviews and codified in practice guidelines, recommendations, and algorithms, demonstrates that several pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are effective in improving the lives of persons with severe mental illnesses. Yet the practices validated by research are not widely offered in routine mental health practice settings. As part of an effort to promote the implementation of evidence-based practice, the authors summarize perspectives on how best to change and sustain effective practice from the research literature and from the experiences of administrators, clinicians, family advocates, and services researchers. They describe an implementation plan for evidence-based practices based on the use of toolkits to promote the consistent delivery of such practices. The toolkits will include integrated written material, Web-based resources, training experiences, and consultation opportunities. Special materials will address the concerns of mental health authorities (funders), administrators of provider organizations, clinicians, and consumers and their families.     

Receipt of preventive medical services at psychiatric visits by patients with severe mental illness

The authors used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1992 to 1999 on 3,198 office visits to explore the extent to which psychiatrists provide clinical preventive medical services to patients with severe mental illness. Preventive services were provided during 11 percent of the visits. A multivariate analysis showed that preventive services were more likely to have been provided for patients with a chronic medical condition, for patients who were also seen by a nurse or other health provider during the visit, in rural areas, and during longer visits. Preventive services were less likely to have been provided during visits to health maintenance organizations and visits that took place later in the study period.     

Use of general medical services among Medicaid patients with severe and persistent mental illness

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine patterns of use of general medical services among persons with a severe and persistent mental illness enrolled in Medicaid from 1996 to 1998. METHODS: A total of 669 persons with a severe and persistent mental illness were identified by using statewide clinical criteria. A three-year database of Medicaid claims was developed to examine service use. The main outcome measures were use of outpatient services for a general medical problem, use of dental and vision services, and use of screening tests for women. Service use was examined by primary psychiatric diagnosis (schizophrenic, affective, paranoid, and anxiety disorders), and analyses controlled for the presence of a chronic medical condition, age, race, and sex. RESULTS: This study found high levels of service use for outpatient services but very low levels for primary and preventive services. Although 78 percent of persons with a schizophrenic disorder had an office-based visit during the three-year period, all persons with an anxiety disorder had such a visit. Sixty-nine percent of persons with a schizophrenic disorder had at least one emergency department visit, whereas 83 percent of those with an anxiety disorder had such a visit. Dental and vision visits and the use of mammograms and pap tests followed the same pattern; persons with a schizophrenic disorder had fewer visits and had less overall use than the other diagnostic groups. The use patterns across the four groups were significantly different in outpatient service use, dental and vision service use, and screening tests for women. Compared with persons with a schizophrenic disorder, those with an anxiety disorder were more likely to have had an office-based visit and to have received vision services, those with a paranoid disorder were more likely to have used dental services or received a mammogram, and those with an affective disorder were more likely to have had a pap test. CONCLUSION: Although this group of Medicaid patients with severe and persistent mental illness had access to providers, they received an unacceptably low level of preventive care. Use of health services for general medical problems differed somewhat by primary psychiatric illness.     

Desire for information of people with severe mental illness

Purpose

To assess (1) the desire of people with severe mental illness for information on their treatment and (2) whether the desire for information is associated with socio-demographic variables, diagnosis, illness duration, therapeutic relationship, needs and symptom severity.

Methods

588 outpatients with severe mental illness were recruited in six European countries (Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom) during the “Clinical decision making and outcome in routine care of people with severe mental illness (CEDAR)” study (ISRCTN75841675). Desire for information was assessed by the Information subscale of the Clinical Decision Making Style Scale. Study participants with high desire for information were compared with those with moderate or low desire for information.

Results

80 % of study participants (n = 462) wanted to receive information on all aspects of their treatment (management, prognosis, alternative options for care). Participants with a high desire for information had less severe symptoms (OR = 0.988, CI = 0.977–1.000) and a better self-rated therapeutic alliance (OR = 1.304, CI = 1.130–1.508) with their clinician.

Conclusions

Most, but not all, people with severe mental illness have a high desire for information. Desire for information is associated with variables, such as therapeutic relationship and symptom severity, which are amenable to change during treatment.     

Experience with post-secondary education for individuals with severe mental illness

There is a need for increased understanding and support of students with severe and persistent psychiatric disabilities in post-secondary education. Advancements in the pharmacological treatment of psychiatric disabilities are permitting a broader range of mental health consumers to reach a level of recovery allowing these consumers to begin or restart college careers (Eudaly, 2002). A post-secondary education is now considered a mandatory investment in the future ("Higher Education," 2003). There are a growing number of people pursuing higher education including those with serious mental illness. I am working on a Master's degree in a Rehabilitation Counselor Education program and face many obstacles due to my psychiatric disability, Bipolar Disorder.