The mission of the Treatment Advocacy Center is to overcome barriers to the treatment of severe mental illness. We recognize that for many black and brown Americans living with mental illness, there are additional barriers to treatment that they must overcome. 

In light of recent events in the news involving race, police encounters and severe mental illness, we are resharing some of our own relevant research, in case you missed it.

Research Roundup is a monthly public service of the Office of Research and Public Affairs. Each edition describes a striking new data point about severe mental illness and summarizes recently published research reports or developments.

The Treatment Advocacy Center is a national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Our organization promotes laws, policies and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of treatments for and research into factors of serious mental illness that have the potential for reducing suffering and improving lives of individuals living with these conditions.

A literature review published in 2020 examines the acceptability and benefits of video conferencing based interventions in people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. 

Drug development for treating schizophrenia is entering a promising new era. This week’s research blog is about some of these new developments written by Michael B. Knable, DO, psychiatrist and Treatment Advocacy Center Board President.  

The Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), in partnership with the American Psychiatric Association (APA), announces the launch of an eight-part series of online learning modules on assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). The modules are now available to the public through SMI Adviser, a new, open-access mental health resource library for providers and others seeking to help individuals with serious mental illness (SMI).

Court-mandated treatment could help prevent justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness, who were declared not guilty by reason of insanity, from getting re-arrested. 

Living in Iowa has allowed my husband, Scott, and I the ability to advocate with most of the many presidential candidates over the past two years, to encourage them to come out with Mental Health Plans that incorporate substantive polices that would help to improve the treatment of people with serious brain disorders like Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective and Bipolar Disorders.  But, truly, our story began long before two years ago.

For the past fourteen years, I’ve watched my best friend and brother fall victim to the symptoms, prejudices and social injustices that come with the territory of living with a severe mental illness. The illness, a delusion disorder, slowly robbed him of his life and his future. In a lot of ways I found myself grieving a person who was very much still alive. There were so many parts of him I knew wouldn’t be the same again. However, there was so much more about him to learn, love, and support; if, only, we were given an opportunity to do so.