The two  most pressing problems in Canada’s mental health system are insufficient mental health beds and a lack of services for homeless people with serious mental illness. Quebec is the only province that has clearly articulated, effective, evidence-based policies to … Continue reading →

On that date, Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant made a momentous announcement:The government plans to create “Intensive Home Treatment “( IHT) programs throughout the province, the focus of which is to avoid psychiatric hospitalization , which is “for many … Continue reading →

This is  a summary of the government document outlining the plan provided by psychiatrist Dr Marianne Genest ,who has been tasked with developing teams in and around the Montreal area , such as the one at CIUSS du Centre-Sud-de-I^lle -de-Montreal … Continue reading →

This is an article I wrote in February 2023 for Healthy Debate. This is an online journal about health care sponsored by the University of Toronto Department of Medicine. My purpose was to draw attention to the lack of innovation … Continue reading →

Yes , if they are in a shelter. We successfully treated people in both  a women’s shelter and a men’s shelter – a case history from which can be accessed at the end of this post. Our experience was in … Continue reading →

Mad in America’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for re-thinking psychiatric care in the US ( and abroad  ) . In particular , it emphasizes psychosocial care and de-emphasizes the ” brain disease model” and its focus on … Continue reading →

Post 22. under Research tab described the development of a fidelity scale for Crisis Resolution Teams. This is the CORE Fidelity Scale ( so called because it was developed by the University College CORE Study-  a research programme on implementation … Continue reading →

The home treatment team accreditation program of the Royal College of Psychiatrists College Centre for Quality  was first mentioned in post # 13. It has  now been successfully piloted and the First Edition was published in February 2013. The standards … Continue reading →

guidance-on-fidelity-for-crisis-services-ukThis 2006 document developed by NIMHE-National Institute of Mental Health for England and the Department of Health has some useful ideas that would apply to intensive home treatment teams in other countries. Useful suggestions include ensuring that the team does … Continue reading →

Assertive Community Treatment Teams have recognized program standards by which fidelity to the model can be judged. As far as I am aware , nothing like this has been available for intensive home treatment teams , until now. The staff … Continue reading →