May 7, 2020
Treatment Advocacy Center Releases Online Learning Modules on Concepts and Implementation of Assisted Outpatient Treatment
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – 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).
AOT is the practice of providing outpatient treatment under civil court order to individuals with SMI who have demonstrated difficulty engaging with treatment on a voluntary basis. When properly implemented and resourced, AOT can dramatically reduce hospitalization, criminalization and other adverse outcomes for its target population. Although AOT is authorized by law in nearly every state, most states have a substantial unmet need for programmatic implementation on a local level.
“People with SMI and their loved ones deserve compassionate and cost-effective pathways to recovery. These modules show how AOT programs, when implemented properly, can be a lifeline to those currently caught in the revolving doors of the mental health and criminal justice systems,” said John Snook, Executive Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center. “AOT is key to reducing the repeat hospitalization, homelessness, arrest and incarceration of individuals with SMI.”
With content adapted from a white paper released in October 2019, the learning modules are the first and only online resource for those seeking practical guidance on establishing and maintaining successful AOT programs in their own communities. Like the white paper, the modules describe the essential elements of an AOT program, identify the building blocks of a sustainable program, and offer tips from longtime AOT practitioners on maximizing program outcomes. Addressing AOT implementation from a multidisciplinary perspective, the modules focus on the collaboration between judicial and treatment systems that defines the AOT model.
“From my own longtime practice of public psychiatry, I know that AOT can be an essential tool of any local mental health system seeking good outcomes for patients with SMI who struggle to maintain engagement in treatment,” said APA President and TAC board member Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H. “I am delighted that this vital information for both legal and clinical practitioners has found a home on SMI Adviser.”
SMI Adviser was created under a five-year, $14.2 million grant awarded to the APA by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the creation of a clinical resource system for SMI support focused on person-centered care.
The modules are packaged into 2 courses available for CME credit:
- AOT: Basic Concepts and Principles (Modules 1-3)
- AOT: Implementation (Modules 4-8)
To learn more about the AOT implementation learning modules and to join the #MissionForBetter, visit www.SMIadviser.org.
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The Treatment Advocacy Center is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. The organization promotes laws, policies, and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
