Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Articles by Alakeson, V. PubMed Citation Articles by Alakeson, V. Patient Satisfaction, Quality of Life Health Insurance Other Health Services Issues

Self-Directed Care for Adults With Serious Mental Illness: The Barriers to Progress

Ms. Alakeson is affiliated with the Office of the Assistant Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, Humphrey Bldg., 200 Independence Ave., Washington, D.C. 20201 (e-mail: vidhya.alakeson{at}hhs.gov).

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health identified self-directed care as one service innovation that could create a more consumer- and family oriented mental health system. Four years later, there are still fewer than 400 consumers in five states accessing self-directed care in the public mental health system. This Open Forum identifies three main barriers to explain this lack of progress: the absence of a strong evidence base to support the effectiveness of self-directed care for serious mental illness, uncertainty over the appropriate scope of self-directed care, and the absence of a sustainable source of funding. The introduction of the 1915(i) provision of the Social Security Act in 2007 appears to partly address the funding barrier to self-directed care. There is also a strong case for a large-scale evaluation of self-directed care for persons with serious mental illness to address the two remaining barriers to progress.

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2008 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us