There is widespread recognition among clinicians, researchers, individuals with serious mental illness and their families that the involvement of family members in the mental health care of their loved ones is essential to providing quality and effective care. However, little is known about the effects of family involvement on inpatient care and how that involvement can be sustained upon discharge to an outpatient setting. In a new study published this week, researchers found that there is a significant association between family involvement in inpatient care and both the creation of a comprehensive patient discharge plan and prompt continuation of treatment in an outpatient setting.

A new partnership between the University of Washington and Dayton General Hospital in Washington state may be the first to combine the comprehensive services of an academic medical center with the accessibility of a “critical access hospital” in a rural locality.

New research suggests an important role of the choroid plexus in individuals with psychotic disorders, providing further evidence in line with Dr. Torrey’s work on inflammation and the immune system in schizophrenia.

Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT), a form of court-ordered care for individuals with serious mental illness, may be effective even without the use of intensive case management services, according to new research out of Summit County, Ohio.

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.

Treatment Advocacy Center founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey and board member Dr. Robert Yolken published a provocative new paper arguing that genetics may be less of a factor in the development of schizophrenia than some researchers have previously claimed. The authors suggest due to these findings, funding more gene-environmental studies deserves a chance for promoting progress in developing better treatments for schizophrenia. 

Psychotic symptoms are found to be exacerbated during the perimenstrual phase in women with psychotic disorders, resulting in increased psychiatric hospitalizations during that period. The results suggest further research is needed to understand the implications of hormone therapy for women with psychotic disorders.

After decades of use in populations diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is starting to become part of the mainstream treatment landscape for individuals with serious mental illness. 

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.

Shared decision-making, a clinical care approach where clinicians and patients discuss evidence together and make concerted choices about appropriate treatments, is a principle of quality healthcare that has become more prevalent in mental healthcare guidelines. This week’s blog makes the argument for expanding the principles of shared decision-making to mental healthcare and including caregiver involvement as an essential element in practice.