Plans to Improve Interventions for Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders

A report released by the National Academy of Medicine aims to ensure that evidence-based psychosocial interventions are routinely used in clinical practice and included in the clinical training of mental health professionals. The report, "Psychosocial Interventions for Mental and Substance Use Disorders," provides granularity on guidelines and quality measures that can be readily implemented by care providers in their clinical practice.

According to the report, the following steps would help better engage consumers:

• Strengthen the evidence base for interventions
• Identify elements of effective intervention
• Conduct independent systematic reviews to inform clinical guidelines
• Develop quality measures
• Implement interventions and improve outcomes.

Harold Pincus, MD, professor and vice chair in the department of psychiatry at Columbia and an author of the report said, "This report describes how to incorporate [psychosocial] interventions into the mainstream, outlining how treatment decisions can be made at both a clinical and policy level, to increase the likelihood that people will receive evidence-based care."

Read more on EurekAlert!: http://bit.ly/1GkjCQJ