Early tailored assertive community case management for hard‐to‐engage adolescents suffering from psychiatric disorders: an exploratory pilot study

Abstract

ACT appears as a feasible intervention for hard-to-engage adolescents suffering from psychiatric disorders. The intervention seems to improve their mental health and functioning. This pilot study may serve as a basis to prepare a controlled study that will also take the costs of the intervention into account.

Timing of Clinical Improvement in Assertive Community Treatment for Adolescents: A Pilot Naturalistic Observational Study

“…Consistent with literature, ACT was observed to be an efficient intervention to alleviate the difficulties of adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., Baier et al, 2013;Rowland et al, 2005;Schley et al, 2008). Symptoms (i.e., hallucinations, somatic disturbances and emotional difficulties) were reduced between 3-month assessment and discharge.…”

“…The model of care is based on assertive flexible meetings often taking place in the adolescents' environment and with direct involvement of their family (Baier et al, 2013;Graap et al, 2014).…”

“…Assertive community treatment (ACT) reduces symptoms and enhances social integration for adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders (Baier, Favrod, Ferrari, Koch, & Holzer, 2013;Rowland et al, 2005;Schley et al, 2008). In our practice, the duration of ACT rarely exceeds 12 months.…”

Clinical significance of assertive community treatment among adolescents

“…Similar conclusions were reached in a study on adolescents at high psychiatric risk who were followed by ACT teams, where post-treatment assessments showed a significant decrease in aggressive and self-harming behaviors [7]. Finally, a Swiss study compared assessments before and after ACT treatment on adolescents with a wide range of severe psychiatric disorders and showed a significant decrease of their social and symptomatic difficulties [1].…”

“…Assertive community treatment (ACT) for children and adolescents with serious mental illness is an important part of the mental health system. It constitutes a middle term between hospitalization and occasional outpatient treatment, and thus complements both types of treatment whenever emergency hospitalization would be too heavy or when standard outpatient treatment would be too light [1]. ACT is also particularly used to provide care to severely ill patients who tend to refuse care or traditional outpatient treatment.…”