An Evaluation of Lighthouse International's Mental Health Services Center
Overview
The purpose of this evaluation study is to test the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment delivered by Lighthouse International's Mental Health Clinic providers in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in adult clients/patients.
Method
Participants in the evaluation of the Mental Health Services Center (MHSC) will be adult Lighthouse clients or others who are referred to the MHSC for services. Following referral to the MHC, the client will complete intake and registration information with MHC staff who will enter these data into the Electronic Vision Rehabilitation Record (EVRR®) system. Following intake/registration, the staff psychiatrist will provide a clinical assessment of the client and determine if a diagnosis can be made according to DSMIV criteria. Following this evaluation, the psychiatrist will determine if the MHSC can serve the client and develop a treatment plan based on this clinical assessment.
If the client is retained for treatment at the MHSC, a psychotherapist will conduct a psychosocial assessment, including administration of the Beck Depression and/or Anxiety scales dependent upon presenting diagnosis(es). These data will be entered in to the EVRR system by the psychotherapist. The psychotherapist will implement the treatment plan developed by the psychiatrist, and will provide 10 sessions of psychotherapy. The treatment plan and client progress will be reviewed after 30 days, regardless of the number of psychotherapy sessions received, in order to determine if further services are warranted, if the client can be discharged from the MHSC, or if the client should be referred elsewhere.
In order to evaluate the MHSC, the program evaluation staff will receive a weekly report on new referrals/cases enrolled in the MHC who meet evaluation inclusion criteria. Program evaluators will then download the client record from the EVRR system and transfer this information into a statistical database package. In addition, client charts will also be reviewed for other relevant information as needed for the evaluation, such as DSM-IV diagnosis of the psychiatrist and notes.
This evaluation will use a single-group pre-test/post-test noncontrol group design of clients in the MHC. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance will be used to examine significant change in depression, anxiety and mental health measures following treatment at the MHSC.
Status
Evaluation data collection is ongoing.
Investigators: Mark Brennan, PhD, Co-Investigator
Verena Cimarolli, PhD, Co-Investigator
Project Period:June 2007- May 2009
Updated: 6/2007
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