Consumers as Staff in Assertive Community Treatment Programs

The last decade has witnessed the increasing importance of consumers as providers of mental health services. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams and ACT variants, with their emphasis on rehabilitation and support in the client's natural environment, have hosted consumer-professional collaborations. The authors discuss one such program in which an ACT program for homeless mentally ill adults employed consumer advocates (CAs). Consumer advocates were found to have a service profile similar to other staff. Further, there is suggestive evidence that the employment of CAs created a more positive attitude toward persons with mental illness. Issues of role definition, boundaries, support with supervision and the importance of CAs' experiences with mental illness are discussed.     

Comparison of Assertive Community Treatment Programs in Urban Massachusetts and Rural North Carolina

In this pilot study, we compared teams in rural North Carolina (NC) and urban Massachusetts (MA) to examine the how sites vary the implementation of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model to respond to state and local circumstances. We analysed and compared data on: client characteristics using the NC-TOPPS and a modified survey in MA; Regional Demographics and; Team Characteristics. Issues such as driving distances, lack of qualified clinical staff, scarcity of physicians, and more limited oversight created impediments to fidelity in rural NC, despite higher per patient funding. ACT is now national, but variability in implementation of the model remains. This paper was originally presented as a poster at the 59th Institute on Psychiatric Services in New Orleans, October 2007.     

Financing Assertive Community Treatment

Assertive community treatment (ACT) is a widely-used intervention for the most severely impaired persons with mental illness. Because it differs from traditional treatment approaches in its philosophy, its organization, and in the clients it serves, financing strategies that are appropriate for standard services may not be optimal for ACT. In developing new payment systems, policymakers must choose between targeted strategies that attempt to influence the treatment process directly and those that establish broad goals for effectiveness, access, and efficiency while allowing providers more latitude in the treatment process. These choices profoundly influence how and to whom ACT is available.     

NPACT: Enhancing Programs of Assertive Community Treatment for the Seriously Mentally Ill

Morbidity and mortality due to physical illness is extremely high in the population of persons with serious mental illness. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on psychiatric and physical outcomes through enhancing a standard Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) with Advanced Practice Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses (APNs) and stabilized consumer peer providers (NPACT). In a two-group community comparison design, 38 participants receiving NPACT were compared to 21 participants receiving traditional PACT. Evaluations were conducted at baseline and 6 months. Significant improvements over time were demonstrated for both groups on all summary variables. Treatment effects for NPACT over PACT were demonstrated for psychiatric symptoms, community functioning, and consumer satisfaction. Conclusions: Enhancements for PACT using advanced practice nurses and consumer peer providers have the potential to address both health and mental health problems for the seriously mentally ill.     

Treatment Outcome in Patients Receiving Assertive Community Treatment

In an observational study of severely mentally ill patients treated in assertive community treatment (ACT) teams, we investigated how treatment outcome was associated with demographic factors, clinical factors, and motivation for treatment. To determine psychosocial outcome, patients were routinely assessed using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). Trends over time were analyzed using a mixed model with repeated measures. The HoNOS total score was modeled as a function of treatment duration and patient-dependent covariates. Data comprised 637 assessments of 139 patients; mean duration of follow-up was 27.4 months (SD = 5.4). Substance abuse, higher age, problems with motivation, and lower educational level were associated with higher HoNOS total scores (i.e., worse outcome). To improve treatment outcome, we recommend better implementation of ACT, and also the implementation of additional programs targeting subgroups which seem to benefit less from ACT.     

Fidelity and Recovery-Orientation in Assertive Community Treatment

There has been increasing commentary about the degree to which Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams provide recovery-oriented services, often centered around the question of the use of coercion. The present study was designed to contribute to this discussion through an examination of recovery-oriented service provision and ACT fidelity among 67 teams in the province of Ontario, Canada. The findings indicated a moderate to high degree of recovery orientation in service provision, with no significant relationship between ACT fidelity and consumer and family/key support ratings of recovery orientation. A significant relationship was found, however, between the ‘nature of services’ domain of the Dartmouth Assertive Community Treatment Scale (DACTS) and ratings of recovery orientation provided by staff and ACT coordinators. These findings extend the existing dialogue regarding the evaluation of ACT intervention process factors and indicate that current measures of fidelity may not be adequately addressing dimensions of recovery-oriented service provision.     

Therapeutic Agents of Assertive Community Treatment

The goal of this study was to learn how assertive community treatment (ACT) contributes to the improvement of those with serious mental illness in order to contribute to the growing clinical literature regarding the therapeutic agents of ACT teams. Methods included reviewing the case records of three ACT clients who have improved significantly, as well as interviewing the clients themselves and their clinicians. The results indicated that there was significant agreement among the case records, the clients, and their clinicians in identifying the most useful aspects of assertive community treatment. Primary among these factors were the persistence demonstrated by ACT clinicians in engaging their clients, the trust that clients developed in their clinicians, and as a result, the process by which their clinicians became guides to the world of psychiatric and social services that further facilitated their clients' community adjustment. In closing, we consider implications from these findings both for staff development for ACT team members, and for suggestions toward the development of a model of recovery from serious mental illness.     

Extending Assertive Community Treatment to Criminal Justice Settings: Origins,Current Evidence,and Future Directions

This paper presents an overview of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) as an evidence-based practice in mental health care. We then consider current evidence for FACT (ACT for forensic populations) and FICM (intensive case management for forensic populations) and the ways these models have been extended and adapted to serve mentally ill persons in a variety of criminal justice settings. The available evidence about the effectiveness of these models towards preventing recidivism among criminally-justice involved persons with mental illness is weak. We conclude with several suggestions for how the clinical model of FACT needs to be expanded to incorporate interventions aimed at reducing criminal behavior and recidivism. J. Morrissey is affiliated with the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and with the Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. P. Meyer is affiliated with the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and with the Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. G. Cuddeback is affiliated with the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and with the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.     

The effect of Assertive Community Treatment in Japan

Ito J, Oshima I, Nishio M, Sono T, Suzuki Y, Horiuchi K, Niekawa N, Ogawa M, Setoya Y, Hisanaga F, Kouda M, Tsukada K. The effect of Assertive Community Treatment in Japan. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program in a Japanese mental health service setting. Method: This study was a randomized controlled trial. ACT was the intervention condition (n = 59), and the usual hospital‐based rehabilitation program was the control condition (n = 59). Outcome indicators include in‐patient days, psychiatric symptoms, social functioning, quality of life, and client satisfaction. The follow‐up period was 12 months after the intervention. Results: We found a significant reduction of in‐patient days for the ACT group demonstrated by t‐test (t = 2.33, P = 0.02). However, the results of ancova did not show significant differences for in‐patient days between the two groups (F = 1.85, P = 0.18). The depression score for Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for the ACT group was significantly lower than the control group at the 12‐month follow‐up assessment (F = 5.57, P = 0.03). According to the t‐test, the ACT group had a higher client satisfaction than the control group (t = 2.08, P = 0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that ACT had a positive influence, as evidenced by a reduction of in‐patient days, lower depressive symptoms, and higher client satisfaction.     

Consumer Perceptions of Assertive Community Treatment Interventions

The issue of coercion in community-based mental health programs is frequently linked to the development of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model. Sixty-five adults diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness, participating in an ACT model program, completed measures that assessed elements of coercion and the perceived frequency of use of ACT staff therapeutic limit setting activities, as well as the relationships between coercion, empowerment, quality of life, and the working alliance. On average, participants did not perceive high degrees of coercion or negative pressures and did not feel excluded from the process of making decisions. On the continuum of restrictiveness of therapeutic limit setting activities, participants perceived staff to be using less restrictive therapeutic limit setting activities more frequently. Elements of perceived coercion and specific activities were negatively related to quality of life, sense of empowerment, and the working alliance.     

Predictors of the Working Alliance in Assertive Community Treatment

Past research has found that a positive working alliance between clients and their case managers is modestly correlated with client outcomes. The current study tried to identify the predictors of the working alliance in a sample of 115 clients who were receiving services from Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams. All of the clients suffered from severe mental illness, had a substance use disorder and were homeless at baseline. Both the client’s rating and the case manager’s rating of the working alliance were assessed at 3 months and 15 months post baseline. Client characteristics, particularly motivation to change, explained more of the variance of the client’s rating of the alliance than treatment variables or client change on the outcome variables. On the other hand, treatment variables (e.g., the amount of transportation services provided) and client change on the outcome variables explained more of the variance of the case manager’s rating of the alliance.Dr. Robert J. Calsyn and Mr. Lemming are affiliated with the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Dr. Gary A. Morse is affiliated with the Community Alternatives. Dr. W.D. Klinkenberg is affiliated with the Missouri Institute of Mental health.     

Clinical Pharmacist Interventions on an Assertive Community Treatment Team

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a community-based treatment approach intended to help in the recovery and rehabilitation of clients with severe and persistent mental illnesses. A clinical pharmacist is not routinely a member of an ACT team. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of a pharmacist by reviewing recommendations and interventions made by a clinical pharmacist on an ACT team. Information was gathered through a chart review of clients at Community Alternatives in St. Louis, Missouri. All recommendations and interventions performed by the clinical pharmacist between February 1, 2008 and July 31, 2008 were recorded. A total of 341 interventions and recommendations for 29 clients were completed by the pharmacist. Medication management, medication adjustment recommendations, and mental health assessments were the most frequent interventions. This study suggests a clinical pharmacist can be beneficial to an ACT team and provide diverse services to both clients and other team members.     

FACT: Integrating Family Psychoeducation and Assertive Community Treatment

Family Psychoeducation and Assertive Community Treatment are both state-of-the-art service systems with rich empirical foundations, demonstrating unusual effectiveness in randomized clinical trials. Recent research suggests a possible additive effect on selected outcomes when the two approaches are integrated. This paper reviews the role of family support and intervention in the care of persons with serious mental illnesses, presents the research literature on psychoeducation, and highlights benefits of merging the multiple-family version of this approach into the work of assertive community treatment programs.     

Assertive Community Treatment and Associations with Substance Abuse Problems

This study examined the associations between substance abuse problems in severely mentally ill patients, outcome and Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model fidelity. In a prospective longitudinal study, ACT model fidelity and patient outcomes were assessed in 20 outpatient treatment teams using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales, Camberwell Assessment of Needs short appraisal schedule and measures of service use. Five hundred and thirty severely mentally ill patients participated in the study. Substance abuse problems were assessed three times during a 2-year follow-up period. This study found that among patients with severe mental illness, patients with an addiction problem had more serious psychosocial problems at baseline. Substance abuse problems showed improvement over time, but this was not associated with ACT model fidelity. The study indicates that investment by teams to improve a patient’s psychosocial situation can lead to improvements on substance problems.     

Forensic Assertive Community Treatment: A Review of the Literature

An extensive body of literature provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of assertive community treatment (ACT) with regard to non-forensic outcome measures, such as number of hospital admissions and length of stay. However, research findings on the effectiveness of ACT for forensic outcome measures, such as rearrests or detentions, is much less clear. The present review, therefore, focuses on the application of ACT in forensic populations, combining key elements of ACT with elements of forensic rehabilitation models. Specifically, a review of the literature was conducted using a systematic methodology in an attempt to combine evidence-based elements of 40 years of research on regular ACT with elements of forensic rehabilitation models. Results reveal limited yet promising evidence in support of the effectiveness of forensic ACT for forensic outcome measures. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Contexts of Social Relationship Development Among Assertive Community Treatment Clients

This exploratory qualitative study examined contexts and processes of social relationship development as experienced by adults with schizophrenia participating in assertive community treatment (ACT) programs. Semistructured interviews with 20 ACT clients diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and 2 ACT staff members were analyzed using grounded theory analysis methods. Results showed that aside from contacts with family members and providers, participants' interactions with fellow mental health clients tended to dominate social interactions, and that this pattern appeared to be influenced by both the concentration of social opportunities in daily activities of service utilization and the ACT program emphasis upon facilitating relationships between clients. Participants described their relationships with other mental health clients in primarily positive terms, yet several participants expressed dissatisfaction and desired greater integration into mainstream social networks. Implications for mental health service delivery are discussed.     

Changes in Motivation for Treatment in Precontemplating Dually Diagnosed Patients Receiving Assertive Community Treatment

In a population of dually diagnosed patients receiving assertive community treatment we used the theoretical framework of the transtheoretical model to establish (a) the proportions and characteristics of patients who were not motivated for treatment for psychiatric symptoms and substance use, (b) the proportion of patients who moved towards behavioral change after about 1 year, and examine how this change was related with clinical outcome; and (c) the sequence of change processes. Chi square tests and T tests were used to compare the patient characteristics and outcomes of patients who remained in precontemplation with those who progressed. During follow-up, 47 % of the patients came out of the precontemplation phase for treatment of psychiatric symptoms and 38 % for substance use behavior. Those who remained in precontemplation benefited less from treatment. Of those who did move forward, most appeared to become motivated for psychiatric treatment before becoming motivated to reduce substance use.     

Clinical Factors Associated with Successful Discharge from Assertive Community Treatment

We sought to explore clinical factors associated with successful transition from Assertive Community Treatment to less intensive clinical services. Mixed-method observational follow up study of veterans discharged from three VA-affiliated ACT teams to less intensive clinical services. Of the 240 veterans in ACT, 9% (n?=?21) were discharged during the study period. Among the 11 of 21 discharged veterans who enrolled in the follow up study, reason for discharge, designated by the veteran’s primary clinician at the time of discharge, predicted outcomes (p?=?0.02) at 9 months, with “disengagement” as a reason for discharge predicting poorer outcomes. Six of 11 veterans experienced poor outcomes at 9 months, including incarceration and substance use relapse. ACT clinicians rarely discharge clients. Many clients may experience negative clinical events following ACT discharge, and clients may be difficult to follow post-discharge. Client disengagement from ACT may indicate higher likelihood of poor outcomes following discharge to less intensive clinical services.     

The Work of Recovery on Two Assertive Community Treatment Teams

The compatibility of recovery work with the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model has been debated; and little is known about how to best measure the work of recovery. Two ACT teams with high and low recovery orientation were identified by expert consensus and compared on a number of dimensions. Using an interpretive, qualitative approach to analyze interview and observation data, teams differed in the extent to which the environment, team structure, staff attitudes, and processes of working with consumers supported principles of recovery orientation. We present a model of recovery work and discuss implications for research and practice.     

Harbinger II: Deployment and Evolution of Assertive Community Treatment in Michigan

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is now recognized as the model proven to be most successful in working with clients with long-term, severe mental illness. The first documented research replication study of ACT was Harbinger of Grand Rapids, in Kent County, Michigan. The Harbinger program influenced significant programmatic changes throughout the public mental health system in Michigan. This paper describes this evolution in community mental health locally and why these changes came about. The state-level strategy to implement replications of Harbinger is described, as well as funding and monitoring mechanisms that have now resulted in over 100 successful ACT programs in Michigan. For mental health administrators, the implications discussed include the future of ACT promotion and implementation, within the reality of a managed care framework.