ABSTRACT
Hospital utilization by crisis-ridden chronic mentally ill persons living in the community was studied after their participation in a network therapy program, which convenes a social network of relatives and friends to provide continuing emotional and practical support for mentally ill individuals and their families. The study compared the number of psychiatric hospitalizations and total days hospitalized for 20 network therapy participants and 20 nonparticipants before and after referral to the program. In a follow-up period ranging from six months to two years, the number of hospitalizations fell by 74 percent for participants and by 19 percent for nonparticipants. The total number of days hospitalized decreased by 76 percent for participants, compared with a 112 percent increase for nonparticipants. The results suggest that participants benefit from network therapy and that its effect is enduring.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/therapy , Social Environment , Social Support , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Chronic Disease , Deinstitutionalization , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Patient Admission , Psychotic Disorders/therapy , Schizophrenia/therapyABSTRACT
Twelve social networks received a course of network therapy at the Mount Tom Institute in Holyoke, Massachusetts, by the Network Therapy Project. A total of twenty-five 3-hour meetings included 201 participants. A study was conducted examining the number and type of service contacts in the clients' central medical files three months prior to the completion of network therapy and at two 3-months intervals after therapy was terminated. Entries were made in clients' charts by case managers, by crisis team staff, and by other mental health professionals. An historical comparison group was studied by randomly choosing 12 clients from the 19 referred for network therapy who did not receive this treatment. The comparison group showed an overall 17% decrease in service utilization after the date of referral, compared to a 76% decrease postnetwork therapy in the treatment group. The difference between the group outcomes was statistically significant.
Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services , Social Environment , Social Support , Humans , Massachusetts , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health CareABSTRACT
The following article presents a new methodology in network therapy. It describes the network therapy process from the referral and assessment of a client-system, through sessions held, to the concluding follow-up. The three stages of convening, connecting, and shifting the locus of control from the therapeutic team to the network are discussed. Various strategies and case material are described.
