American Psychological Association Person-Centered Care for Mental Illness: The Evolution of Adherence and Self-Determination

Many people with serious mental illnesses opt to not seek mental health services, or drop out of interventions early. As a result, their condition may become more disabling. In the past, mental health professionals considered this behaviour to be a failure to comply with or adhere to treatment. Such adherence plans are, however, at odds with emerging empirical research and modern philosophies of recovery and personal empowerment. Using the latest outcomes research, authors in this volume show that having control over one's life goals and treatment plan is essential to clients' recovery. They also demonstrate how person-centered care can take place across various contexts, including mandated treatment, psychotherapy, medication management, supported employment, family education, complementary medicine, and peer support. Readers will familiarize themselves with practices that enhance self-determination among people with serious mental illness. These include collaborative goal setting, motivational interviewing, and creating psychiatric advance directives. Also reviewed here are cognitive behavioural and rehabilitative interventions that help people with information processing difficulties to better understand their health options. In the new person-centered care environment, recently codified in the Affordable Care Act, people are seen as consumers of mental health services rather than patients who must comply with doctor's orders. The ideas presented in this volume are the future of care for the seriously mentally ill. From the Back Cover In contrast to the institutional approach of years past, today most people with mental illness live in the community, and decide for themselves whether, and to what extent, to participate in treatment. Providers are now beginning to ask, "How do I provide services that help people achieve their recovery goals?" rather than, "How do I get my patient to adhere to the prescribed treatment?" Contributors to this volume describe the public health benefits that emerge when providers respect personal health care decisions even when the person making them has a serious mental illness. They also share evidence-based practices that enhance self-determination, such as: creating an advance psychiatric directive addressing clients' information processing difficulties, so they can better understand their treatment options motivational interviewing to support employment as part of a recovery plan Rich examples of consumer-provider interactions illustrate how providers can instill hope and help activate the client's support network to facilitate goal-setting and decision-making. About the Author Patrick Corrigan is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. Previously, he was professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago, USA where he directed the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. His research examines psychiatric disability and the impact of stigma on recovery and rehabilitation. Currently, he is principal investigator of the National Consortium for Stigma and Empowerment (NCSE); funded by National Institute of Mental Health, NCSE is a collaboration of investigators from more than a dozen research institutions. Dr. Corrigan has authored or edited more than a dozen books, most recently, The Stigma of Disease and Disability by APA. He is also PI of current grants from NIMHD and PCORI as well as supported on stigma research with the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and is editor of the American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation.