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Centered in Lived Experiences: Peers Reshape Engagement in California’s CARE Court
Living with the symptoms of a serious mental illness can feel isolating and debilitating. It can also breed distrust, which makes it difficult to accept services and support. These challenges were top of mind when the CARE Act launched in Los Angeles in December 2023, establishing a civil court...
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Lived Experience, Lasting Impact: The Role of Peer Support in Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Programs
Beginning an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is not just about addressing symptoms. Many participants enter treatment carrying uncertainty about the process, wondering whether it will work and how they will manage future challenges. Even with strong therapeutic relationships and...
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Substance Use Disorder Measures and Preparing for Value-Based Purchasing
In a previous column, I wrote about the measures for value-based purchasing being developed together with the New York State Department of Health and the Center on Addictions, our partner on many projects. Our work to develop clear measures has set the foundation for insurance plans, providers and...
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A Performance-Driven Culture in a Children’s Mental Health Agency
Developing a performance-driven culture in the children’s mental health system is a complex process that includes engaging, assessing, treatment planning, gathering data, measuring outcomes, and evaluating and continually improving care. Although evidence-based practice (EBP) has become a...
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A System in Transformation
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors of this column facilitated a focus group of their peers to inform this writing. The authors are served by Services for...
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Compassionate Care for Substance Users in Traditional Settings
Like many other mental health treatments, substance use treatment has struggled with high dropout rates and problems with engaging clients. Only 0.9 percent of people who have some substance use issues engage in treatment. While some of this may be the client’s internal reluctance to get care,...
