ACT with the Seriously Mentally Ill

Abstract

Psychotic disorders in general and schizophrenia in particular have generally been regarded as disorders that are relatively difficult to treat. While psychopharmacological treatments are widely available and effective compared to placebo controls (Davis, Schaffer, Killian, Kinard, & Chan, 1980), many patients with serious mental illness (SMI) are unresponsive to medications. Relapse rates are 20% per year among patients who receive psychosocial treatment and antipsychotic medication and twice that among persons receiving medication only (Gorman, 1996). SMI patients also tend to be treatment non–compliant with high service utilization and service costs, and to have significant family, financial, and social problems, even with available treatment (Miner, Rosenthal, Hellerstein, & Muenz, 1997).