OLYMPIA -- The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is making increasingly effective use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in mental health treatment, according to a recent survey.

EBPs are defined as mental health approaches that are scientifically validated to produce specific, successful outcomes for both patients and communities.

A survey from late last year conducted by the Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training – Western Branch (WIMHRT West) showed that the Mental Health Division, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Children's Administration, and Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration all reported widespread, routine adoption of such EBPs as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Assertive Community Treatment.

"When we look at the research on mental health, we've come an incredibly long way in the past 15 years in terms of what works," says Eric Trupin, PhD, of the Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy at University of Washington's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "We really have a good database as to effective practices. The problem is that for many of these programs it's hard for them to migrate out of a university-based setting into a clinical or more public setting."

To help address that need, Washington State legislation last year created the Evidence-Based Practice Institute, headed by Dr. Trupin. Its mission is to help communities make decisions about EBPs that best fit their particular needs. The Institute then helps community programs implement the EBPs and determine strategies to sustain them.

"Looking out into the world of community mental health, you only see about 10 percent of these evidence-based practices in a public mental health center. So we've got this big disconnect in terms of what we know works and what actually exists out there," says Dr. Trupin.

Programs specially targeted for efforts to migrate research findings from the university setting to communities include:

• Family Integrated Treatment: Aimed at youth with mental illness and substance abuse problems and now involved with the juvenile justice system.
• Program of Assertive Community Treatment: Intended for individuals with serious and persistent mental illnesses.
• Fulfilling the Promise: Funded in part by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, this program addresses issues of providing effective mental health services for children in foster care.
• Partnerships for Success: Funded by a legislative proviso that enables counties, regional support networks (RSNs), and tribal groups to submit proposals addressing their priority needs.

While the widespread and growing adoption of EBPs by DSHS agencies and community mental health centers promises great improvement in outcomes in Washington State over the long term, it will come with substantial costs in terms of training and retraining, one of the most significant challenges of the effort.

"We're going to take some of the dollars that the Legislature gave us and find opportunities where we can to invest and enhance the utilization of evidence-based practices," says Dr. Trupin.

"One thing I do know that relates to sustainability is we have a profound problem with workforce," he says. "We need to develop an improved skill set for our workforce. We don't train our graduates from our professional schools in evidence-based practices. One of the things that has to happen is interdisciplinary training among social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, attorneys, and pediatricians – so people know how to talk to each other about this issue."

BACKGROUND: The Mental Health Transformation Project is a five-year project funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support mental health infrastructure and service delivery improvement activities. A preventive approach has been identified as one of the critical components to that effort.

The grant is a direct result of the move toward recovery-oriented, consumer- and family-driven mental health priorities identified by the President's New Freedom Commission.

COMING UP:

Mental Health Transformation Project to sponsor Prevention Summit in MayThe Prevention Summit is set for Tues., May 13, at the Doubletree Inn in Tukwila, WA. For mental health advocates, key partners, policy makers, community representatives, and interested citizens, the Prevention Summit will continue the effort to guide Washington State toward a system that promotes mental health, intervenes early, and addresses the devastating impacts of mental illness. Visit

http://mhtransformation.wa.gov/MHTG/prevsummit.shtml for more information.

FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT:  Jim Stevenson, Communications Director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).