Community-based Mental Health Treatment Research Articles

Serious Mental Illness and Tobacco Addiction: A Model Program to Address This Common but Neglected Issue

Tobacco addiction among persons with serious mental illness (SMI) has been largely ignored. About 75 to 85% of persons with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other SMI use tobacco; most will either die and/or have reduced quality of life because of tobacco-caused medical diseases. Tobacco addiction is the most common co-occurring disorder for the SMI population. A dramatic reduction in tobacco use in the general population has occurred during the past 40 years; however, there has been almost no reduction for smokers with SMI. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey program targets smokers with SMI and provides outreach services, clinical treatment and research, and consultation to other community-based mental health treatment agencies in New Jersey. Clinical and research evidence supports motivation-based treatment, blending mental health and addiction treatment approaches, and integrating tobacco dependence treatment within mental health settings. The unique barriers and clinical issues for this population are described.

Mandated treatment in the community for people with mental disorders.

Commitment to community-based mental health treatment bears limited resemblance to commitment to treatment in a closed institution. It can be better understood in the context of a broad movement to apply leverage to induce treatment engagement, a movement that includes use of the social welfare and justice systems and psychiatric advance directives. Understanding "mandated community treatment" in all of its forms can be advanced by viewing it within the framework of health care quality as recently outlined by the Institute of Medicine, particularly along the dimension of patient-centeredness.

Mental Health Issues Reach Congressional Agenda

Mental Health Issues Reach Congressional Agenda

APA Wants VA Budget Increased To Meet Mental Health Needs

APA Wants VA Budget Increased To Meet Mental Health Needs

Coercion in the community: Issues for mature treatment systems

Coercion in community-based mental health treatment refers to much more than just court-ordered treatment. Mature systems can address these issues and adopt clinical approaches that decreased the need for coercion.