Individually Based Psychosocial Rehabilitation for Older People With Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

Dartmouth Health

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 1

Conditions: Major Depression; Schizophrenia; Bipolar Disorder; Schizoaffective Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: HOPES-I

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT00817154

K23MH080021

Details and patient eligibility

About

The major goal of this project is to adapt an existing group-based psychosocial program to enhance community functioning in older people with serious mental illness (SMI). The focus of the adaptation is designing and evaluating an individually based rehabilitative program for older people with SMI who either cannot or choose not to access a group program.

Enrollment: 38 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Age 50+;
2. ability to provide voluntary informed consent or assent, with formal consent by a legal guardian;
3. Axis I Disorder of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression;
4. Functional impairment based on New Hampshire state eligibility criteria for services to people with SMI;
5. Enrollment in treatment for at least three months.

Exclusion criteria

1. residence in a nursing home or assisted living facility;
2. Terminal illness expected to result in death within one year or less;
3. Diagnosis of dementia, or significant cognitive impairment as indicated by a Mini Mental Status Evaluation (MMSE) score <24;
4. Current active substance abuse or dependence;
5. Past Participation in HOPES-G

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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38 participants in 1 patient group

Hopes-I

Experimental group

Description:

The program progresses in three steps. First, participants receive a 10-week Basic Skills for Community Living course covering essential skills from each of the five modules to ensure that all participants establish basic competency in a core set of skills. Second, clinicians assess participants' functioning to identify skill areas that warrant additional improvement and engage participants in a shared decision making process to select skill areas to pursue in greater depth. Third, clinicians have weekly 60 minute sessions with participants in community settings for 7 months to provide training and to facilitate and support acquisition of core skills and rehabilitation goals.

Treatment:

Behavioral: HOPES-I