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Evaluation ViewAttendees 1

Category: Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders

Symposium 78 - Cultivating Joyful Mental Health Care by Centering the Preferences and Values of People with Serious Mental Illness

Saturday, November 18, 2023
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM PST
Location: Chiwawa (501), Level 5
CE: 1

Keywords: Severe Mental Illness, Clinical Decision Making, Evidence-Based Practice
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Deegan, P. E. (1988). Recovery: The lived experience of rehabilitation. Psychosocial rehabilitation journal, 11(4), 11.,   Treichler, E. B., Rabin, B. A., Cohen, A. N., & Light, G. A. (2021). How shared is shared decision making? Reaching the full potential of patient-clinician collaboration in mental health. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 29(5), 361-369.,   Ehret, B. C., Treichler, E. B., Ehret, P. J., Chalker, S. A., Depp, C. A., & Perivoliotis, D. (2021). Designed and created for a veteran by a veteran: a pilot study of caring cards for suicide prevention. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 51(5), 872-881.,   Browne, J., Battaglini, C., Jarskog, L. F., Sheeran, P., Abrantes, A. M., McDermott, J., ... & Penn, D. L. (2021). Targeting physical health in schizophrenia: results from the Physical Activity Can Enhance Life (PACE-Life) 24-week open trial. Mental health and physical activity, 20, 100393.,  

The recovery model was conceptualized by people with lived experience of psychosis and other serious mental illnesses (SMI) to support a joyful and meaningful life regardless of whether symptoms improve (Deegan et al., 1988). Included in the key components of the recovery model are self-determination, empowerment, and individualized, holistic, and strengths-based care. Embodying this model in mental health care therefore requires understanding each person’s needs, goals, preferences, values, and cultural context, and tailoring care to them on that basis and with their full participation (Treichler et al., 2021). Treatment personalization therefore moves beyond connecting a diagnosis to an evidence-based treatment but rather using mental health care as a paradigm that facilitates holistic growth of a person on their terms. This approach is important to improving outcomes across a number of domains, including symptom severity, quality of life, empowerment, and social functioning. It can also increase health equity by better meeting the needs of each person in care, as opposed to expecting minoritized people to engage in treatments which were not developed for or by them. While there is significant empirical and community support for these goals, there simultaneously remains substantial work to identify how to implement a fully person-centered, recovery-oriented approach to mental health care.

 This symposium will therefore seek to expansively examine how to fully center the preferences, values, needs, and cultural characteristics of people with SMI in their care. We will begin with a presentation from Emily Treichler, PhD, about treatment decision-making preferences of a diverse sample of veterans with SMI and the gap between these preferences and current decision-making practices. Then we will discuss tailoring of specific recovery-oriented interventions to foster increased effectiveness, engagement, and sustainability. Julia Browne, PhD, will present qualitative data from a clinical trial of a virtual walking intervention for people with psychosis, Virtual Physical Activity Can Enhance Life (Virtual PACE-life). Samantha Chalker, PhD, and Cara Pozun, MA, will present mixed methods preference data from a feasibility trial of caring contacts adapted into a peer format for veterans with SMI, Caring Cards. Finally, our discussant, Will Hagans, a Navy veteran with lived experience of mental illness and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expertise will integrate these findings into the broader literature and discuss a path forward towards more joyful, recovery-oriented, and equitable care for people with SMI by understanding and centering personal preferences and values.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Identify the benefits of centering care around client preferences and values.
  • Describe how involved veterans with psychosis prefer to be in treatment decision-making.
  • Explain the preferences of people with psychosis who engage in a virtual fitness intervention.
  • Describe the preferences of veterans with serious mental illness who engage in a caring contacts intervention.
  • Identify two recommendations for improved clinical practice to center care around client values and preferences.