People with serious mental illness (SMI) are more likely than the general population to experience homelessness and be victimized by others, become involved with the criminal legal system, experience health […]
Research Summary
The Overrepresentation of Black Americans in AOT
In the United States, Black people with SMI have been found to be more likely to receive coercive mental health treatments including involuntary hospitalizations, the use of physical restraints, the […]
Victimization and Serious Mental Illness
People diagnosed with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia are more likely than the general population to be victims of crime. Victimization of people with SMI often takes the form of […]
Duration of Untreated Psychosis
The average duration of untreated psychosis is 74 weeks in the U.S. This long period of untreated psychosis has many negative effects, including the following: Treatment response worsens Insight is […]
Anosognosia
When someone with severe mental illness refuses to accept treatment and insists that there is nothing wrong with them, it can be frustrating to caregivers and treatment providers who just […]
Assisted Outpatient Treatment: Improving Outcomes and Saving Money
Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) is a tool in the toolbox for civil courts and mental health systems to work collaboratively to help individuals with serious mental illness caught in a […]
Serious Mental Illness Prevalence in Jails and Prisons
Serious mental illness has become so prevalent in the US corrections system that jails and prisons are now commonly called “the new asylums.” In point of fact, the Los Angeles […]
Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Suicide
The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2016 that suicide rates rose significantly from 2009 to 2014 and that the rise in suicide rates accelerated beginning in 2006. In 2014, […]
Psychiatric Bed Supply Need Per Capita
The United States is in the midst of a psychiatric bed shortage that worsens every year. By early 2016, the practice of closing state mental hospitals, often called “deinstitutionalization,” had […]
Risk Factors for Violence in Serious Mental Illness
Most individuals with serious mental illness are not dangerous. Most acts of violence are committed by individuals who are not mentally ill. Individuals with serious mental illness are victimized by […]
Serious Mental Illness and Homicide
US and international to date research suggests that individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are responsible for approximately 10% of all homicides in the United States. For mass killings, the […]
Antipsychotic Medications and the Brain
Changes in brain structure are caused both by the disease process of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and by the antipsychotic drugs used to treat these diseases. Different antipsychotic drugs may […]