Strategies for Improving Client Engagement in Psychosis Services Across the Lifespan-View Presentation Slides

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In a webinar hosted by the American Psychiatric Association on August 4, 2023, various strategies for enhancing client engagement in psychosis services were discussed. The webinar highlighted the complexities of disengagement in mental health services, detailing numerous causative factors and exploring strategies to counteract these trends.<br /><br />Disengagement in psychosis services is a multidimensional issue. Contributing factors include cultural misalignments with treatment approaches, structural racism, and negative experiences with the mental health system, such as involuntary hospitalization and medication disagreements. Statistics reveal significant disengagement rates; for instance, early intervention programs in the U.S. report 40-50% disengagement within 12 months and up to 80% within two years. Various personal, familial, and systemic barriers contribute to these high figures, like transportation issues, cost concerns, societal stigma, and structural barriers within health services.<br /><br />To address disengagement, the webinar stressed the importance of cultural humility in mental health settings, focusing on building trust and validating client experiences. It recommended a shift from solely medical-model oriented spaces to more welcoming, community-centered environments. Additional strategies include developing emotional healing relationships, fostering supportive family connections, and using ecological thinking to understand and dismantle socio-structural impediments to engagement.<br /><br />Tools such as the Cultural Formulation Interview and Maastricht Interview were highlighted as means to facilitate deeper understanding and engagement, promoting discussions centered on clients' lived experiences. These approaches aim to support clients in meaning-making and identity adaptation in relation to their mental health challenges.<br /><br />Ultimately, the webinar advocated for a paradigm shift towards more empathetic and inclusive practices, recognizing the broader social contexts and interpersonal dynamics that influence client decisions regarding mental health service engagement.

Keywords

psychosis services

client engagement

cultural humility

structural racism

mental health

disengagement factors

community-centered environments

Cultural Formulation Interview

Maastricht Interview

paradigm shift