A mental health clinic in St. Louis, MO, provided the traditional outpatient treatment, which included psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, and assistance in obtaining social services. The service population included adults without housing who had a severe psychiatric disorder, no history of violent behavior, and an intention to stay in the St. Louis area for the duration of the study. The intervention lasted 12 months.
Comparing Outpatient Treatment to Continuous Treatment Team showed the effect of being referred to a set of services that were unique to Outpatient Treatment or how much better Outpatient Treatment met participants’ needs. The key difference between the interventions was that Outpatient Treatment provided direct mental health services. In contrast, Continuous Treatment Team provided an unlimited amount of individualized case management, including the development of a plan to meet each client’s needs. Continuous Treatment Team also provided services such as housing, health care, transportation, and money management. This study also examined the effectiveness of the Drop-In Center.
The intervention provided adults without housing with traditional outpatient treatment from a state mental health clinic to improve their housing, income, and well-being. This evaluation compared Outpatient Treatment to a separate intervention, Continuous Treatment Team, to better understand which intervention might be more effective. Outpatient Treatment featured psychotherapy and psychiatric medication.