The mental health system in Trieste, a city of 240,000 in northern Italy , is famous . Allen Frances, former chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine  has visited it five times and called it … Continue reading →

Intensive Home Treatment ( IHT ) programs could reduce emergency room boarding of patients experiencing a mental health crisis in three ways : 1 They could be referred to an IHT program by ER staff  instead of being admitted to … Continue reading →

In April 2016 one of the acute wards of the regional public psychiatric hospital – Cantonal Psychiatric Clinic ( CPC) was shut down, and the staff of the ward was trained to build an IHT team . The team was … Continue reading →

  As in the 2019 Swiss RCT ( post 23), this  study utilized the Zelen design in which participants are  randomized before the consent stage. IHT was compared to hospital treatment at 2 centres within the Amsterdam Psychiatric Emergency Service … Continue reading →

This study is important for a number of reason This is the sixth country ( and health care system) in which an RCT of IHT was conducted It is the first RCT since the 2005 one in North Islington by … Continue reading →

Fidelity measures are tools to assess the implementation of models of mental health care. They enable translation of scientific knowledge into patient benefit . Fidelity measures for complex interventions in mental health services help to define the intervention and measure … Continue reading →

This paper in Lancet Psychiatry ,Vol  3 ,June 2016 examines the question : what role do health services have in suicide prevention ?  The research is part of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental … Continue reading →

Here is the reference for a recent paper in Lancet Psychiatry that -in my opinion- raises unwarranted concerns about the safety of intensive home treatment. Hunt I, Rahman S, While D, et al. Safety of patients under the care of … Continue reading →

There is much to learn from this 2010 qualitative research study of individuals who had accessed intensive home treatment services in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire UK during September 2010. What the individuals found helpful boils down to having someone who develops … Continue reading →

Such was the conclusion of a paper published in the British Journal of Psychiatry  by two health economists :   Jacobs R & Barrenho E. Impact of crisis resolution and home treatment teams on psychiatric admissions in England. British Journal of … Continue reading →