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ACT and Recovery: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice and Recovery Orientation on Assertive Community Treatment Teams

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Abstract

We examine whether Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), a widely implemented and rigorously studied practice, can successfully incorporate a recovery-oriented approach while continuing to retain program fidelity. We briefly review the effectiveness of ACT as an evidence-based practice, with a focus on adaptations to changing populations and contexts. We explore philosophical similarities and differences between ACT and recovery and examine how fidelity standards, a widely used indicator of how ACT teams operate, support or interfere with the adoption of a recovery-oriented practice. Finally, we provide recommendations on how best to incorporate a recovery orientation into existing ACT teams.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Michelle P. Salyers Ph.D.

  2. Roudebush VA Medical Center, 1481 W. 10th St. (11H), Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Michelle P. Salyers Ph.D.

  3. Department of Psychiatry, NYU Medical Center, New York, USA

    Sam Tsemberis Ph.D.

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  1. Michelle P. Salyers Ph.D.
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  2. Sam Tsemberis Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Michelle P. Salyers Ph.D..

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Dr. Salyers is Co-Director of the ACT Center of Indiana, Associate Research Professor, Department of Psychology, IUPUI, and Research Scientist, VA HSR&D Center on Implementing Evidence-based Practice, Roudebush VAMC and Regenstrief Institute, Inc.

Dr. Tsemberis is Founder and Executive Director of Pathways to Housing, Executive Director of the New York State Institute for ACT and Recovery Based Training, and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, NYU Medical Center.

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Salyers, M.P., Tsemberis, S. ACT and Recovery: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice and Recovery Orientation on Assertive Community Treatment Teams. Community Ment Health J 43, 619–641 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-007-9088-5

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