Mental Health Services Research
Director: Robert E. Drake, M.D., Ph.D.
Description:
The Department of CFM has joined forces with the Department of Psychiatry and
the State of New Hampshire to form the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric
Research Center (PRC), which conducts much of the Mental Health Services
Research at Dartmouth. The PRC's fourteen years of research have centered on
efficacy and cost-effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation for people with
severe mental disorders (SMD); integrated treatment for people with SMD and
co-occurring substance use disorder; services for the elderly with SMD; the
relationships among substance abuse, trauma and victimization, and HIV risk
behaviors; and on services research methodologies. Originating in rural New
Hampshire, the PRC's research program has progressed into sites located in small
cities and large urban areas in New England and throughout the country.
Vocational Services:
The PRC has investigated several aspects of vocational services for persons with
severe mental disorders. Initial studies in New Hampshire explored issues
related to replacing day treatment centers with vocational programs, and
comparison of supported employment programs which are integrated with other
mental health services to those provided by separate agencies. Further study and
replication has occurred in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Maryland and South Carolina. As a body these studies address issues including
preparation for competitive employment, integration of vocational with other
mental health services, non-vocational outcomes such as changes in self-esteem
and psychiatric symptoms, job termination, and cost-effectiveness.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment:
PRC researchers began working in the dual disorders area in the 1980s. Pilot
studies in Boston and in rural New Hampshire formed the basis for a series of
methodological studies, services trials in New Hampshire, replications in
culturally diverse settings, and pioneering studies of costs, families,
implementation, service models, and the criminal justice system. PRC researchers
are currently involved in several longitudinal studies of dual disorders,
including ten-year follow-up studies in NH and CT.