Transforming systems of care: the American Association of Community Psychiatrists Guidelines for Recovery Oriented Services

Study of recovery model implementation in psychiatric hospitals: Clients and multidisciplinary staff perspective

The recovery model guides mental health services. However, the delivery of recovery-oriented services in inpatient settings is still a challenge. Factors affecting recovery model implementation can be classified into three types: the hospital environment, the inpatient and the service provider. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the impact of environment, inpatient and service provider factors on recovery model implementation in hospitals. Forty-five service providers and 42 inpatients from three types of wards (acute locked, acute open and daycare) of two hospitals participated in this cross-sectional study. We assessed inpatient cognition, functional capacity and illness severity. In addition, we retrieved information on service providers' professional status and evaluated the recovery model knowledge and attitudes. Implementation of the recovery model was measured using the Recovery Self-Assessment, both the inpatient and service provider versions. Differences were found between the three types of wards in recovery orientation as reported by service providers ( χ 2 2  = 15.3, P < 0.001), but not by inpatients ( χ 2 2  = 2.34, P > 0.05). Providers' internalized knowledge and attitudes toward recovery, inpatients' functional capacity and age of illness onset were associated with recovery implementation (0.31 < r < 0.48, P < 0.05). The findings confirm quantitatively the multilevel nature of factors that affect the implementation of the recovery model in psychiatric hospitals. The inpatients' perspective should be incorporated into the service development process. Based on the study results, the reduction in the restrictive features of the wards' environment is recommended. Promotion of the recovery model implementation in the hospital setting requires the expansion of staff's internal positive attitudes toward recovery.

Exploring Factors Impacting the Implementation of Recovery-Oriented Treatment Planning on Acute Inpatient Mental Health Units

PURPOSE

The current literature on operationalizing and implementing recovery-oriented inpatient care in diverse settings remains limited. The present study systematically examined factors affecting the implementation of one aspect of recovery-oriented care in a large and diverse national sample of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) inpatient mental health units.

METHOD

VHA inpatient mental health units were scored on the Recovery-Oriented Acute Inpatient scale (RAIN). Sites scoring either one standard deviation above (n = 8; i.e., high-scoring sites) or one standard deviation below (n = 5; i.e., low-scoring sites) the mean on the RAIN factor of inpatient treatment planning subscale were included for additional analyses (N = 13). We used a qualitative approach known as emergent thematic analysis to assess the implementation of inpatient treatment planning elements (e.g., goal setting, shared decision-making) from qualitative interviews, observation notes, and chart reviews collected for the 13 sites. The analysis was guided by Normalization Process Theory.

RESULTS

The eleven themes that emerged across the elements of recovery-oriented inpatient treatment planning mostly represented commonalities across sites, such as a shared treatment philosophy of acute care. However, five themes emerged as "differentiators" that distinguished high- and low-scoring sites and included veteran input, elicitation of recovery goals, the value of group programming, and the purpose of family involvement.

CONCLUSION

Findings provide insight into contextual factors and processes that impacted the implementation of recovery-oriented treatment planning at these VHA inpatient mental health units. To further facilitate the implementation of recovery-oriented inpatient treatment planning elements, future research should examine staff's collective understanding of recovery-oriented inpatient care.

The challenges and necessity of situating 'illness narratives' in recovery and mental health treatment

In mental health services, recovery constitutes a guiding principle that is endorsed in professional medical guidelines and has become central to mental health policies across the world. However, for many clinicians, it can be a challenge to effectively embed recovery concepts into professionally directed treatment of disease without distortion, and ostensibly away from what matters to those who use the services. We discuss the evolving and multifaceted concept of 'recovery', including illness narratives to frame our discussion. We demonstrate how integration between a person-directed management of illness and a professionally directed treatment of disease can converge, resulting in positive outcomes for people with mental illness.

Factors influencing the implementation of mental health recovery into services: a systematic mixed studies review

BACKGROUND

Countries around the world have committed in policy to transforming their mental health services towards a recovery orientation. How has mental health recovery been implemented into services for adults, and what factors influence the implementation of recovery-oriented services?

METHODS

This systematic mixed studies review followed a convergent qualitative synthesis design and used the best-fit framework synthesis method. Librarians ran searches in Ovid- MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, Ovid-PsycInfo, EBSCO-CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Two reviewers independently screened studies for inclusion or exclusion using DistillerSR. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods peer-reviewed studies published since 1998 were included if they reported a new effort to transform adult mental health services towards a recovery orientation, and reported findings related to implementation experience, process, or factors. Data was extracted in NVivo12 to the 38 constructs of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The synthesis included a within-case and a cross-case thematic analysis of data coded to each CFIR construct. Cases were types of recovery-oriented innovations.

RESULTS

Seventy studies met our inclusion criteria. These were grouped into seven types of recovery-oriented innovations (cases) for within-case and cross-case synthesis. Themes illustrating common implementation factors across innovations are presented by CFIR domain: Intervention Characteristics (flexibility, relationship building, lived experience); Inner Setting (traditional biomedical vs. recovery-oriented approach, the importance of organizational and policy commitment to recovery-transformation, staff turnover, lack of resources to support personal recovery goals, information gaps about new roles and procedures, interpersonal relationships), Characteristics of Individuals (variability in knowledge about recovery, characteristics of recovery-oriented service providers); Process (the importance of planning, early and continuous engagement with stakeholders). Very little data from included studies was extracted to the outer setting domain, and therefore, we present only some initial observations and note that further research on outer setting implementation factors is needed.

CONCLUSION

The CFIR required some adaptation for use as an implementation framework in this review. The common implementation factors presented are an important starting point for stakeholders to consider when implementing recovery-oriented services.

Towards community-based and recovery-oriented care for severe mental disorders in Southern and Eastern Europe: aims and design of a multi-country implementation and evaluation study (RECOVER-E)

Background

Substantial strides have been made around the world in reforming mental health systems by shifting away from institutional care towards community-based services. Despite an extensive evidence base on what constitutes effective care for people with severe mental ill-health, many people in Europe do not have access to optimal mental health care. In an effort to consolidate previous efforts to improve community mental health care and support the complex transition from hospital-based to community-based care delivery, the RECOVER-E (LaRge-scalE implementation of COmmunity based mental health care for people with seVere and Enduring mental ill health in EuRopE) project aims to implement and evaluate multidisciplinary community mental health teams in five countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper provides a brief overview of the RECOVER-E project and its methods.

Methods

Five implementation sites were selected (Sofia, Bulgaria; Zagreb, Croatia; Skopje, North Macedonia; Kotor, Montenegro; Siret-Suceava, Romania) where hospital-based mental health services are available (care as usual, CAU) for patients with severe mental disorders (severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia). The intervention consists of the introduction of a new service delivery model in each site, consisting of community-based recovery-oriented care delivered by trained multidisciplinary community mental health teams (including a peer worker with lived experience of a severe mental disorder). The implementation outcomes of the teams and the effect of the team’s approach on patient and service utilisation outcomes will be evaluated using a mix of research methods. The study includes five planned hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials (1 per site) with patient-level randomization (n = 180, with patients randomised to either care as usual or intervention condition). Effectiveness is evaluated using a pragmatic non-blinded design with patients randomised into two parallel groups: receiving new community-based care or receiving usual care in the form of institutional, hospital-based mental health care. Trial-based health economic evaluation will be conducted; implementation outcomes will be evaluated, with data aligned with dimensions from the RE-AIM framework. Pathways to sustaining project results will be developed through policy dialogue sessions, which will be carried out in each country and through ongoing policy engagement activities at the European level.

Discussion

The RECOVER-E project has been developed and conducted to demonstrate the impact of implementing an evidence-based service delivery model for people with severe mental illness in different contexts in middle-income countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It is expected that the results will contribute to the growing evidence-base on the health and economic benefits of recovery-oriented and community-based service models for health systems in transition.

Trial registration Each trial was registered before participant enrolment in the clinicaltrials.gov database: Site—Croatia, Zagreb (Trial Reg. No. NCT03862209); Montenegro, Kotor (Trial Reg. No. NCT03837340); Romania, Suceava (Trial Reg. No. NCT03884933); Macedonia, Skopje (Trial Reg. No. NCT03892473); Bulgaria, Sofia (Trial Reg. No. NCT03922425)

Explanatory models of mental illness among family caregivers of persons in psychiatric rehabilitation services: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

Understanding the explanatory models of family caregivers is particularly important in interdependent contexts like India, where they often play a significant role in the help-seeking behaviours, treatment decision-making and long-term care of those diagnosed with mental illness.

AIMS

This study was planned to explore the diversity of explanatory models among family caregivers at a centre for recovery-oriented rehabilitation services in South India.

METHODS

The sample for this study included 60 family caregivers of patients referred to Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services within a tertiary-care hospital for mental health and neurosciences. Bart's Explanatory Model Inventory, including a semi-structured interview and a checklist, assessed the family caregivers' explanatory model of distress on five domains: identity, cause, timeline, consequences and control/cure/treatment.

RESULTS

The results indicated the coexistence of multiple causal explanatory models including psychosocial, supernatural, situational and behavioural contributors. While 36.7% of the caregivers displayed two explanatory models, 33.3% of the caregivers held three explanatory models and 16.6% of the caregivers endorsed four explanatory models. Caregivers shared their concerns about varied consequences of mental illness but less than half of them were aware of the name of the psychiatric disorder. While they accessed various forms of treatments and adjunctive supports such as prayer, medication was the most frequently used treatment method.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings have implications for collaborative goal setting in recovery-oriented services for persons with mental illness and their families.

Preferences of Information Dissemination on Treatment for Bipolar Disorder: Patient-Centered Focus Group Study

BACKGROUND

Patient education has taken center stage in successfully shared decision making between patients and health care providers. However, little is known about how patients with bipolar disorder typically obtain information on their illness and the treatment options available to them.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to obtain the perspectives of patients with bipolar disorder and their family members on the preferred and most effectively used information channels on bipolar disorder and the available treatment options.

METHODS

We conducted nine focus groups in Montana, New Mexico, and California, in which we surveyed 84 individuals including patients with bipolar disorder and family members of patients with bipolar disorder. The participants were recruited using National Alliance on Mental Illness mailing lists and websites. Written verbatim responses to semistructured questionnaires were analyzed using summative content analysis based on grounded theory. Two annotators coded and analyzed the data on the sentence or phrase level to create themes. Relationships between demographics and information channel were also examined using the Chi-square and Fisher exact tests.

RESULTS

The focus group participants mentioned a broad range of information channels that were successfully used in the past and could be recommended for future information dissemination. The majority of participants used providers (74%) and internet-based resources (75%) as their main information sources. There was no association between internet use and basic demographics such as age or geographical region of the focus groups. Patients considered time constraints and the fast pace in which an overwhelming amount of information is often presented by the provider as major barriers to successful provider-patient interactions. If Web-based channels were used, the participants perceived information obtained through Web-based channels as more helpful than information received in the provider's office (P<.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Web-based resources are increasingly used by patients with bipolar disorder and their family members to educate themselves about the disease and its treatment. Although provider-patient interactions are frequently perceived to be burdened with time constraints, Web-based information sources are considered reliable and helpful. Future research should explore how high-quality websites could be used to empower patients and improve provider-patient interactions with the goal of enhancing shared decision making between patients and providers.

Understanding Innovation in Homeless Service Provision: A Study of Frontline Providers' Values-Readiness for Change

Service innovation for adults experiencing mental illness and homelessness typically involves shifting from treatment-led, staircase models toward recovery-oriented, Housing-First models. Aligning frontline service providers' values to those embedded within newer models is an important, but under-investigated, influence on the innovation process. To assess values alignment in this context, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with frontline providers in staircase services in Ireland (n = 50). Data showed that, while their values mostly aligned to the treatment-led model, there was meaningful evidence of more recovery-oriented values, too. Strategies to enhance innovation through values-alignment are discussed.

Explication and Definition of Mental Health Recovery: A Systematic Review

This review assessed the concordance of the literature on recovery with the definition and components of recovery developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Each SAMHSA identified recovery component was first explicated with synonyms and keywords and made mutually exclusive by authors. Inter-rater reliability was established on the coding of the presence of 17 recovery components and dimensions in 67 literature reviews on the recovery concept in mental health. The review indicated that concordance varied across SAMHSA components. The components of recovery with greatest concordance were: individualized/person centered, empowerment, purpose, and hope.

Development and validation of Attitudes towards Recovery Questionnaire across Chinese people in recovery, their family carers, and service providers in Hong Kong

Considering the lack of existing measures on attitudes toward personal recovery and the need to acknowledge the cultural milieu in recovery attitude assessment, the present study developed and validated the Attitudes towards Recovery Questionnaire (ARQ) in a sample of people in recovery of mental illness, family carers, and mental health service providers in Hong Kong. The ARQ was developed based on existing literature and measures of recovery, and focus group discussions with various stakeholders. Findings of the multi-sample confirmatory factor analyses supported a five-factor structure: (1) resilience as a person in recovery, (2) self-appreciation and development, (3) self-direction, (4) family involvement, and (5) social ties and integration. The ARQ was positively correlated with recovery outcomes, empowerment, recovery knowledge, and recovery orientation of mental health services. As a tool for examining recovery attitudes, the ARQ informs us of the mindset across stakeholders and areas that need enhancement to facilitate the recovery process.

Use of seclusion for managing behavioural disturbance in patients

Seclusion is a tool used by psychiatrists primarily to manage aggressive and disturbed behaviour that is presumed to be due to the patient's mental disorder. In most parts of the world there are guidelines to using seclusion that are designed to maximise a patient's freedoms and protect their liberty while providing a safe environment. Arguments against the use of seclusion revolve around the deprivation of liberty, the potential for misuse and the concept of seclusion as a form of social control, and patients generally report seclusion as a negative, coercive experience. There is little evidence that seclusion provides long-term benefits in terms of treating symptoms or reducing aggression, although the literature is mixed in this regard. Expert opinion recommends a combination of national policy, ward management and patient-centred interventions to reduce seclusion rates.

Community Mental Health Care Providers' Understanding of Recovery Principles and Accounts of Directiveness with Consumers

The present qualitative study examined community mental health providers' accounts of their therapeutic interactions with adults with serious mental illness in a recovery-oriented model of care. Ten long-time mental health care providers discussed their understanding of recovery principles, their use of directive practices, and factors that shape their work with consumers. Content analysis of mental health providers' accounts suggest that providers had no difficulty articulating basic principles of recovery-oriented care. Providers reported engaging in directive practices with consumers and described using traditional clinical factors such as level of functioning, degree of psychiatric symptoms, safety concerns, and legal status to assess consumers' ability for autonomous decision making. Providers generally did not express tension between their views of mental health recovery and their beliefs about utilizing directive approaches with consumers. Implications of present findings for research and practice are discussed.

Protocol for a mixed studies systematic review on the implementation of the recovery approach in adult mental health services

INTRODUCTION

Recovery is integral to mental health planning in G-8 countries including Canada. A recovery-oriented approach to care aims to promote personal empowerment, illness self-management and a life beyond services for people with serious mental illness (SMI), while reducing the financial burden associated with mental illness. Although there is a growing body of literature on recovery, no synthesis of research on the implementation of recovery into mental health services exists.

OBJECTIVES

The objective is to conduct a mixed studies systematic review on the operationalisation of recovery into mental health services for adults with SMI. It will inform the transformation of Canadian services to a recovery orientation, but may be applicable to other countries.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Seven databases including PubMed, Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycInfo, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library and Scopus will be searched for peer-reviewed empirical studies published from 1998 to December 2016. Systematic reviews and studies using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies will be included. Secondary searches will be conducted in reference lists of all selected full text articles. Handsearches will also be performed in the tables of contents of three recovery-focused journals for the last 5 years. International experts in the field will be contacted for comments and advice. Data extraction will include identification and methodological synthesis of each study; definition of recovery; information on recovery implementation; facilitators and barriers and study outcomes. A quality assessment will be conducted on each study. The data will be synthesised and a stepwise thematic analysis performed.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval is not required for this knowledge synthesis. Findings will be disseminated through knowledge translation activities including: (1) a 1-day symposium; (2) presentations in national and international conferences and to local stakeholders; (3) publications in peer-reviewed journals; (4) posts on the organisational websites.

Meeting the Transition Needs of Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youth through Culturally Based Services

This article reports findings from three qualitative studies exploring supports for positive transitions of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth to adulthood. Community-based participatory methods were employed through a research partnership involving a culturally based community agency, the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), the National Indian Child Welfare Association, and Portland State University. Studies utilized a Relational Worldview (RWV) framework, where well-being is understood as a balance among the domains of mind, body, spirit, and context. Collectively, findings demonstrate that NAYA employs culturally grounded interventions to overcome the traumatic histories and current oppressive conditions affecting low-income urban AI/AN youth with mental health challenges and to support their well-being and transition to adulthood. In addition, addressing the mental health and well-being of AI/AN youth in culturally appropriate ways involves consideration of all RWV domains. Recommendations for behavioral health practice are to connect AI/AN youth to culturally specific services whenever possible, utilize cultural consultants, and implement holistic and positive approaches to mental health.

Effects of Psychoeducation Given to Caregivers of People With a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducation given to caregivers of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia on their perceptions of burden and on clinical course of patients. This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-post tests and a control group and designed as a nonrandomized controlled intervention trial. While the patients in both the intervention and the control group received treatment as usual (TAU), only the caregivers in the study group were offered two sessions of psychoeducation a week for one month, with a total of eight sessions. Effectiveness of the psychoeducation given was evaluated by comparing scores of Perceived Family Burden Scale (PFBS) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) obtained before and three months after delivery between the intervention and the control groups. Mean PFBS burden scores of the control group at baseline and follow-up were 45.7 and 44.5, respectively. Mean PFBS burden scores of the intervention group were 45.2 at baseline and 38.6 at follow-up. Analysis of variance revealed significant and medium to large size interaction effects of time and group factors on total burden scores of family members (F_1.58 = 5.59; p < 0.05; η_p² = 0.09) and on total PANSS scores of patients (F_1.58 = 104.78; p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.64). Our findings suggest that psychoeducation offered to the caregivers along with TAU offered to patients might result in diminished perceptions of burden among caregivers and enhanced improvement in the clinical course of patients as a result of psychoeducation offered to caregivers.

Determining engagement in services for high-need individuals with serious mental illness

This study examined whether Medicaid claims and other administrative data could identify high-need individuals with serious mental illness in need of outreach in a large urban setting. A claims-based notification algorithm identified individuals belonging to high-need cohorts who may not be receiving needed services. Reviewers contacted providers who previously served the individuals to confirm whether they were in need of outreach. Over 10,000 individuals set a notification flag over 12-months. Disengagement was confirmed in 55 % of completed reviews, but outreach was initiated for only 30 %. Disengagement and outreach status varied by high-need cohort.

Values as determinant of meaning among patients with psychiatric disorders in the perspective of recovery

Recovery is a personal process of growth that involves hope, self-identity, meaning in life and responsibility. Determinants of meaning have not been explored among populations of patients with persistent psychiatric conditions. However, an evidence-based approach aiming at assessing such determinants should provide some insight into the psychotherapeutic aspects of recovery. We tested a model hypothesizing that some symptoms and social parameters of patients are related to values, and secondarily to meaning in life, and in turn that meaning is associated with various parameters, such as depressiveness and self-esteem. We assessed 176 patients with schizophrenia, anorexia, borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Overall, our hypotheses proved correct: firstly, characteristics such as depression, hopelessness, self-esteem and the number of relationships influenced values; secondly, the presence and an enactment of values were associated with meaning, and thirdly, meaning was associated with some symptoms and social characteristics. This model was confirmed in the four psychiatric populations under study. These results support the relevance of addressing values and meaning in the recovery-oriented care of patients with persistent psychiatric disorders, in addition to other psychosocial interventions which are more systematically considered in this area.

Spiritual Meaning in Life and Values in Patients With Severe Mental Disorders

Spirituality and meaning in life are key dimensions of recovery in psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to explore spiritual meaning in life in relation to values and mental health among 175 patients with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and anorexia nervosa. For 26% of the patients, spirituality was essential in providing meaning in life. Depending on the diagnosis, considering spirituality as essential in life was associated with better social functioning; self-esteem; psychological and social quality of life; fewer negative symptoms; higher endorsement of values such as universalism, tradition (humility, devoutness), and benevolence (helpfulness); and a more meaningful perspective in life. These results highlight the importance of spirituality for recovery-oriented care.

Recovery Communities of Practice: An Innovative Strategy for Mental Health System Transformation

This column describes the development of a "community of practice" (CoP) in Quebec, which was implemented in 2012 to promote recovery-oriented practices in mental health care. A group of diverse stakeholders work together to share and transfer knowledge; support diverse practices, strategies, and solutions; develop a culture of collaboration; mobilize opportunities for quality improvement; and influence decision-making bodies. Recent efforts have been successful: the provision of recovery-oriented services is the primary focus of the 2015-2020 Quebec Mental Health Action Plan.

Competing Paradigms

A recovery paradigm that promotes service user involvement, empowerment, and agency has been a guiding principle for the transformation of mental health services internationally. Incorporating recovery values into traditional mental health care settings, however, has been problematic due to organizational, structural, and attitudinal barriers. A new emphasis on contexts, values, and partnerships with service users requires providers to collectively redefine their roles, creating a shift in both individual and organizational identities. This conceptual article provides an in-depth exploration of the social and cultural factors involved in frontline mental health care, highlighting the nature of shared cognition in organizational learning as well as the conflicting forces that promote social stability and change. Using theory drawn from clinical, organizational, and social science literature, the article will discuss the competing ideologies in mental health care, emphasizing the need to create new learning conversations that honor the system’s capacity while creating the necessary dissonance for transformation.

Service users' experiences of participation in decision making in mental health services

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY

Despite the potential positive impact of shared decision making on service users knowledge and experience of decisional conflict, there is a lack of qualitative research on how participation in decision making is promoted from the perspective of psychiatric service users. This study highlights the desire of users to participate more actively in decision making and demonstrates that persons with SMI struggle to be seen as competent and equal partners in decision-making situations. Those interviewed did not feel that their strengths, abilities and needs were being recognized, which resulted in a feeling of being omitted from involvement in decision-making situations. The service users describe some essential conditions that could work to promote participation in decision making. These included having personal support, having access to knowledge, being involved in a dialogue and clarity about responsibilities. Mental health nurses can play an essential role for developing and implementing shared decision making as a tool to promote recovery-oriented mental health services.

ABSTRACT

Service user participation in decision making is considered an essential component of recovery-oriented mental health services. Despite the potential of shared decision making to impact service users knowledge and positively influence their experience of decisional conflict, there is a lack of qualitative research on how participation in decision making is promoted from the perspective of psychiatric service users. In order to develop concrete methods that facilitate shared decision making, there is a need for increased knowledge regarding the users' own perspective. The aim of this study was to explore users' experiences of participation in decisions in mental health services in Sweden, and the kinds of support that may promote participation. Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) was utilized to analyse group and individual interviews with 20 users with experience of serious mental illness. The core category that emerged in the analysis described a 'struggle to be perceived as a competent and equal person' while three related categories including being the underdog, being controlled and being omitted described the difficulties of participating in decisions. The data analysis resulted in a model that describes internal and external conditions that influence the promotion of participation in decision making. The findings offer new insights from a user perspective and these can be utilized to develop and investigate concrete methods in order to promote user's participation in decisions.

Doing mental health care integration: a qualitative study of a new work role

BACKGROUND

Mental health care in Australia is fragmented and inaccessible for people experiencing severe and complex mental ill-health. Partners in Recovery is a Federal Government funded scheme that was designed to improve coordination of care and needs for this group. Support Facilitators are the core service delivery component of this scheme and have been employed to work with clients to coordinate their care needs and, through doing so, bring the system closer together.

OBJECTIVE

To understand how Partners in Recovery Support Facilitators establish themselves as a new role in the mental health system, their experiences of the role, the challenges that they face and what has enabled their work.

METHODS

In-depth qualitative interviews were carried out with 15 Support Facilitators and team leaders working in Partners in Recovery in two regions in Western Sydney (representing approximately 35 % of those working in these roles in the regions). Analysis of the interview data focused on the work that the Support Facilitators do, how they conceptualise their role and enablers and barriers to their work.

RESULTS

The support facilitator role is dominated by efforts to seek out, establish and maintain connections of use in addressing their clients' needs. In doing this Support Facilitators use existing interagency forums and develop their own ad hoc groupings through which they can share knowledge and help each other. Support Facilitators also use these groups to educate the sector about Partners in Recovery, its utility and their own role. The diversity of support facilitator backgrounds are seen as both and asset and a barrier and they describe a process of striving to establish an internally collective identity as well as external role clarity and acceptance. At this early stage of PIR establishment, poor communication was identified as the key barrier to Support Facilitators' work.

CONCLUSIONS

We find that the Support Facilitators are building the role from within and using trial and error to develop their practice in coordination. We argue that a strong organisational hierarchy is necessary for support facilitation to be effective and to allow the role to develop effectively. We find that their progress is limited by overall program instability caused by changing government policy priorities.

Patients' subjective perspective on recovery orientation on an acute psychiatric unit

BACKGROUND

Evaluations of the recovery orientation of mental health services have focused on outpatient and rehabilitative rather than acute inpatient facilities.

AIM

This naturalistic observational study seeks to evaluate the subjective perspective and functional outcome of inpatients before and after structural alterations. The changes made were the introduction of treatment conferences and conjoint treatment planning, reduction of the total time spent on reports about patients (in their absence), and recovery-oriented staff training on an acute psychiatric unit of the University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland.

METHODS

During 1 year (2011/2012) eligible patients on the study unit were interviewed on a voluntary basis using established instruments to assess several recovery-relevant aspects. Two different samples (before and after the project; n = 34 and n = 29) were compared with regard to subjective parameters (e.g. patients' attitudes toward recovery, quality of life, perceived coercion, treatment satisfaction, and hope), clinical and socio-demographic basic data, as well as the functional outcome according to the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS).

RESULTS

Some patient attitudes towards recovery and their self-assessment of the recovery process improved during the study. Other subjective parameters remained stable between samples. Functional outcome was better in subjects who were treated after the implementation of the new concept. The length of stay remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of recovery-oriented structures and providing the necessary theoretical underpinning on an acute psychiatric unit is feasible and can have an impact on attitudes and knowledge of personal recovery.

Evaluation of a recovery-oriented care training program for mental healthcare professionals: effects on mental health consumer outcomes

OBJECTIVES

To examine the effects of a recovery-oriented care training program for mental healthcare professionals on mental health consumer outcomes.

METHODS

The Mental Health Recovery Measure (MHRM) and the Recovery-Promoting Relationship Scale (RPRS) were administered to a sample of 142 consumers with severe mental illness. A repeated measurement design with six measurement occasions was used.

ANALYSES

Separate analyses were performed for the MHRM and RPRS subscales. Data were analyzed by means of the software package AMOS for structural equation modeling. First, the means of the five scales were computed at each measurement occasion. Next, two series of regression analyses were conducted: the first series aimed to ascertain whether gender and age have a significant effect on the MHRM and RPRS scores, and the second series aimed to detect a systematic trend in the average scale response of the MHRM and RPRS.

RESULTS

Scores showed a significant change over time for the subscale 'Learning & new potentials' of the MHRM. Significant effects were also found for gender, with men scoring higher than women on the subscales 'Self-empowerment' and 'Learning & new potentials'. Age had no effect on the MHRM and RPRS. The scores on the RPRS showed no significant change over time.

CONCLUSIONS

One year after completion of the recovery-oriented training program for professionals, positive results were found for two subscales of the MHRM, that is, 'Self- empowerment' and 'Learning & new potentials'.

Institutionalization of deinstitutionalization: a cross-national analysis of mental health system reform

Background

Policies generate accountability in that they offer a standard against which government performance can be assessed. A central question of this study is whether ideological imprint left by policy is realized in the time following its adoption. National mental health policy expressly promotes the notion of deinstitutionalization, which mandates that individuals be cared for in the community rather than in institutional environments.

Methods

We investigate whether mental health policy adoption induced a transformation in the structure of mental health systems, namely psychiatric beds, using panel data on 193 countries between 2001 and 2011.

Results

Our striking regression results demonstrate that late-adopters of mental health policy are more likely to reduce psychiatric beds in mental hospitals and other biomedical settings than innovators, whereas they are less likely than non-adopters to reduce psychiatric beds in general hospitals.

Conclusions

It can be inferred late adopters are motivated to implement deinstitutionalization for technical efficiency rather than social legitimacy reasons.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1752-4458-8-47) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Empowerment and occupational engagement among people with psychiatric disabilities

BACKGROUND

Empowerment is essential in the rehabilitation process for people with psychiatric disabilities and knowledge about factors that may play a key role within this process would be valuable for further development of the day centre services.

OBJECTIVE

The present study investigates day centre attendees' perceptions of empowerment. The aim was to investigate which factors show the strongest relationships to empowerment when considering occupational engagement, client satisfaction with day centres, and health-related and socio-demographic factors as correlates.

METHODS

123 Swedish day centre attendees participated in a cross-sectional study by completing questionnaires regarding empowerment and the targeted correlates. Data were analysed with non-parametric statistics.

RESULTS

Empowerment was shown to be significantly correlated with occupational engagement and client satisfaction and also with self-rated health and symptoms rated by a research assistant. The strongest indicator for belonging to the group with the highest ratings on empowerment was self-rated health, followed by occupational engagement and symptom severity.

IMPLICATIONS

Occupational engagement added to the beneficial influence of self-rated health on empowerment. Enabling occupational engagement in meaningful activities and providing occupations that can generate client satisfaction is an important focus for day centres in order to assist the attendees' rehabilitation process so that it promotes empowerment.

Exploring the relationship between treatment satisfaction, perceived improvements in functioning and well-being and gambling harm reduction among clients of pathological gambling treatment programs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between treatment service quality, perceived improvement in social, functional, and material well-being and reduction in gambling behaviors among clients of Nevada state-funded pathological gambling treatment programs. Utilizing survey data from 361 clients from 2009 to 2010, analyses revealed that client satisfaction with treatment services is positively associated with perceived improvements in social, functional, and material well-being, abstinence from gambling, reduction in gambling thoughts and reduction in problems associated with gambling, even after controlling for various respondent characteristics. These findings can be useful to treatment program staff in managing program development and allocating resources.

A recovery-oriented approach for an acute psychiatric ward: is it feasible and how does it affect staff satisfaction?

To evaluate professionals' attitudes to recovery and coercion, as well their satisfaction with working conditions before and after the implementation of a recovery-oriented ward concept on an admission ward. Longitudinal study design with two measurement times of the study sample, with a control group assessed at study end. Evaluating the implementation of the recovery concept, attitudes towards recovery, coercion, perceptions of the ward and working satisfaction were assessed with questionnaires and computed using Chi square and ANOVA variance analyses. The members of the intervention ward (n = 17) did not differ from the control group (n = 21), except that control group members were younger. The recovery-orientation of the study ward (ROSE questionnaire) increased significantly (alpha level = 0.05) from study begin to study end (p = 0.003), and compared to the control group (p = 0.002). The attitudes towards coercion did not change significantly in the intervention group, but did so compared to the control group. The contentedness (GMI) and the satisfaction with working conditions (ABB) of the intervention group members compared to control group was significantly higher (GMI: p = 0.004, ABB subscale working conditions: p = 0.043, satisfaction: p = 0.023). The study indicates that recovery-oriented principles can be implemented even in an acute admission ward, increasing team satisfaction with work, while attitudes towards coercion did not change significantly within this single-unit project.

Mental health reform at a systems level: widening the lens on recovery-oriented care

This paper is an initial attempt to collate the literature on psychiatric inpatient recovery-based care and, more broadly, to situate the inpatient care sector within a mental health reform dialogue that, to date, has focused almost exclusively on outpatient and community practices. We make the argument that until an evidence base is developed for recovery-oriented practices on hospital wards, the effort to advance recovery-oriented systems will stagnate. Our scoping review was conducted in line with the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (commonly referred to as PRISMA) guidelines. Among the 27 papers selected for review, most were descriptive or uncontrolled outcome studies. Studies addressing strategies for improving care quality provide some modest evidence for reflective dialogue with former inpatient clients, role play and mentorship, and pairing general training in recovery oriented care with training in specific interventions, such as Illness Management and Recovery. Relative to some other fields of medicine, evidence surrounding the question of recovery-oriented care on psychiatric wards and how it may be implemented is underdeveloped. Attention to mental health reform in hospitals is critical to the emergence of recovery-oriented systems of care and the realization of the mandate set forward in the Mental Health Strategy for Canada.

Recovery and severe mental illness: description and analysis

The notion of recovery has been embraced by key stakeholders across Canada and elsewhere. This has led to a proliferation of definitions, models, and research on recovery, making it vitally important to examine the data to disentangle the evidence from the rhetoric. In this paper, first we ask, what do people living with severe mental illness (SMI) say about recovery in autobiographical accounts? Second, what do they say about recovery in qualitative studies? Third, from what we have uncovered about recovery, can we learn anything from quantitative studies about proportions of people leading lives of recovery? Finally, can we identify interventions and approaches that may be consistent or inconsistent with the grounded notions of recovery unearthed in this paper? We found that people with mental illness frequently state that recovery is a journey, characterized by a growing sense of agency and autonomy, as well as greater participation in normative activities, such as employment, education, and community life. However, the evidence suggests that most people with SMI still live in a manner inconsistent with recovery; for example, their unemployment rate is over 80%, and they are disproportionately vulnerable to homelessness, stigma, and victimization. Research stemming from rehabilitation science suggests that recovery can be enhanced by various evidence-based services, such as supported employment, as well as by clinical approaches, such as shared decision making and peer support. But these are not routinely available. As such, significant systemic changes are necessary to truly create a recovery-oriented mental health system.

Can we risk recovery? A grounded theory of clinical psychologists' perceptions of risk and recovery-oriented mental health services

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to explore the views of clinical psychologists towards the concepts of 'risk' and 'recovery' and to set those views against the context of mental health services.

DESIGN

An exploratory, social constructionist grounded theory methodology was adopted.

METHODS

Eleven clinical psychologists working in adult mental health services each participated in one individual semistructured interview.

RESULTS

The clinical psychologists studied were aware of the emergence of recovery-oriented approaches, but felt unable to incorporate them in practice because of perceptions of being bound by both their own limitations and those of their circumstances, including issues of risk, thus giving rise to dilemmas in professional practice. Narrow definitions of risk as equated to danger dominated over broader conceptualizations of risk with positive consequences. The existing culture of mental health services was seen as emphasizing the need to avoid harmful consequences of taking risks, which in turn was seen to limit innovations in implementing recovery-oriented approaches.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants' ability to work in a recovery-oriented manner seemed to be limited by the way in which services perceived and responded to risk. Participants did not discuss risks arising from stigma, social exclusion, racism, sexism, or iatrogenic effects of psychiatric treatment. Narrow conceptualizations of risk as related to harm and danger seen in this study contribute to a sense of needing to be risk averse. However, the implications for practice included ideas about what might increase the possibilities for adopting recovery approaches across disciplines.

A community engaged curriculum for public service psychiatry fellowship training

Transforming the mental health system into a recovery oriented, integrated system of care requires a psychiatric work force that understands the relationship between recovery processes and community living. Fellowship programs in public and community psychiatry contribute to this transformation by educating psychiatrists about recovery, system dynamics, leadership, effective administration and community involvement. This paper describes a novel approach to fellowship programming that accomplishes these aims through an organizational strategy that emphasizes community engagement. After describing the administrative background for the program, we describe how the content curriculum and teaching process focus on the engagement of community members-both service users and service providers-as participating faculty. The faculty includes over 100 consumers, family members, advocacy group representatives, clinicians, and administrators. We present evaluation data obtained from 45 of the 100 community and university faculty who participated in the first 2 years' of the fellowship and conclude with a critique and recommendations for further progress in community engaged fellowship training.

SOCIAL ROLE VALORIZATION IN COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH HOUSING: DOES IT CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF PEOPLE WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES?

Despite its importance as a theory in the development of programs for populations with disabilities, social role valorization (SRV) has received relatively little attention in community mental health research. We present findings of a study that examined the relationship of housing-related SRV to community integration and global life satisfaction of persons with psychiatric disabilities. The housing environments and associated supports of a group of 73 persons with psychiatric disabilities living in a mid-sized city were assessed using the PASSING rating system on the extent that their housing environments facilitated SRV. In addition, in-person interviews were conducted to determine the levels of physical integration, psychological integration, social integration, and life satisfaction of study participants. Results showed SRV contributing directly to all three types of community integration. Psychological integration was found to mediate the relationship between SRV and life satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Opioid addiction and abuse in primary care practice: a comparison of methadone and buprenorphine as treatment options

Opioid abuse and addiction have increased in frequency in the United States over the past 20 years. In 2009, an estimated 5.3 million persons used opioid medications nonmedically within the past month, 200000 used heroin, and approximately 9.6% of African Americans used an illicit drug. Racial and ethnic minorities experience disparities in availability and access to mental health care, including substance use disorders. Primary care practitioners are often called upon to differentiate between appropriate, medically indicated opioid use in pain management vs inappropriate abuse or addiction. Racial and ethnic minority populations tend to favor primary care treatment settings over specialty mental health settings. Recent therapeutic advances allow patients requiring specialized treatment for opioid abuse and addiction to be managed in primary care settings. The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 enables qualified physicians with readily available short-term training to treat opioid-dependent patients with buprenorphine in an office-based setting, potentially making primary care physicians active partners in the diagnosis and treatment of opioid use disorders. Methadone and buprenorphine are effective opioid replacement agents for maintenance and/or detoxification of opioid-addicted individuals. However, restrictive federal regulations and stigmatization of opioid addiction and treatment have limited the availability of methadone. The opioid partial agonist-antagonist buprenorphine/naloxone combination has proven an effective alternative. This article reviews the literature on differences between buprenorphine and methadone regarding availability, efficacy, safety, side-effects, and dosing, identifying resources for enhancing the effectiveness of medication-assisted recovery through coordination with behavioral/psychological counseling, embedded in the context of recovery-oriented systems of care.

Improving public health through access to and utilization of medication assisted treatment

Providing access to and utilization of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence provides an important opportunity to improve public health. Access to health services comprising MAT in the community is fundamental to achieve broad service coverage. The type and placement of the health services comprising MAT and integration with primary medical care including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, care and treatment services are optimal for addressing both substance abuse and co-occurring infectious diseases. As an HIV prevention intervention, integrated (same medical record for HIV services and MAT services) MAT with HIV prevention, care and treatment programs provides the best "one stop shopping" approach for health service utilization. Alternatively, MAT, medical and HIV services can be separately managed but co-located to allow convenient utilization of primary care, MAT and HIV services. A third approach is coordinated care and treatment, where primary care, MAT and HIV services are provided at distinct locations and case managers, peer facilitators, or others promote direct service utilization at the various locations. Developing a continuum of care for patients with opioid dependence throughout the stages MAT enhances the public health and Recovery from opioid dependence. As a stigmatized and medical disenfranchised population with multiple medical, psychological and social needs, people who inject drugs and are opioid dependent have difficulty accessing services and navigating medical systems of coordinated care. MAT programs that offer comprehensive services and medical care options can best contribute to improving the health of these individuals thereby enhancing the health of the community.

Measuring Family Caregiver Perceptions of Support in Caring for Children and Youth With Mental Health Concerns

This correlational study assessed how families of children with mental illness perceived the levels of support they received from informal and formal resource providers and the associations between perceived support and child outcomes. Adult caregivers (N = 904) of youth receiving public mental health care services were administered the Family Caregiver Perceptions of Support Scale developed by the authors to assess family caregiver perceptions of support prior to and at termination of services. Factor analysis identified three types of caregiver anticipated supports: informal support resources, support for treatment plan influence, and health care resources. The domains were significantly and positively associated with one another but did not uniformly correlate with youth mental health outcomes. The study provides preliminary evidence that treatment gains in youth mental health outcomes are observed when caregivers perceive support in treatment processes. Suggestions for future research are made, stressing the importance of caregivers and providers working together and describing needs related to future scale improvements.

Dealing with Real-Life Challenges: Outcome of a Home-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention for People with Severe Psychiatric Disability

The authors offered home-based occupational therapy integrated into supported or sheltered housing to help individuals with severe psychiatric disability identify their specific needs of engagement in meaningful daily occupations. This study aimed to evaluate the client outcomes in activities of daily living (ADL) ability and health factors following their participation in occupation-centered interventions in home and community settings. Seventeen participants (7 women) between the ages of 27 and 66 years participated in the intervention project based on the Everyday Life Rehabilitation (ELR). The following instruments were administered before and after the intervention and at a 6-month follow-up: Goal Attainment Scaling, Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, Assessment of Social Interaction, Satisfaction with Daily Occupations, ADL-taxonomy with an effort-scale, and the Symptom Check List-90. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up differences in test scores on goal attainment, occupation, and health-related factors indicate that important progress was made. These findings support the use of the ELR intervention and suggest that larger randomized clinical trials are needed.

Evaluation of Client Services (ECS): a measure of treatment satisfaction for people with chronic mental illnesses

This article describes the development and psychometric assessment of the Evaluation of Client Services (ECS) measure of treatment satisfaction for people with chronic mental illnesses in community treatment settings. The ECS, a 20-item instrument, was validated in a sample of 184 individuals receiving outpatient mental health treatment in New York City. The four dimensions of the ECS, (1) treatment management and treatment outcome, (2) treatment relationship, (3) communication and information exchange, and (4) reachability of treatment facilities are internally consistent and stable over time. Analyses also show that the ECS is a valid indicator of satisfaction with mental health services which meaningfully correlates with quality of life and another measure of treatment satisfaction. The ECS is a brief and easy to understand treatment satisfaction tool with good psychometric properties.

What predicts recovery orientation in county departments of mental health? A pilot study

In this pilot study we examined the determinants of recovery orientation among employees and influential stakeholders in a sample of 12 county departments of mental health in California. A two-level hierarchical linear model with random intercepts was estimated. Analyses show that recovery orientation has a U-shaped relationship with the age of staff/influential stakeholders and is negatively related to the difference between the desired level of adhocracy and the current level of adhocracy. Recovery orientation is positively related to the education level of staff/influential stakeholders, satisfying transformational leadership outcomes, and larger mental health budgets per capita. Policy implications are discussed.