Toolkits

The NC EBP Center is dedicated to the support of evidence based mental health practices, treatments, and interventions. We offer training, consultation, and other assistance to help practitioners and administrators make the changes required by ongoing mental health reforms in North Carolina. In partnership with the North Carolina Council of Community Programs and the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, our training program is based on five evidence based practice toolkits developed and endorsed by nationally recognized experts. These programs prepare mental health clinicians and other service providers to implement the evidence based models (modalities) shown by research to be effective in treating patients with severe and persistent mental illness. These practices are:

Evidence Based Practices Toolkit Background

Throughout the last decade, research in the field of mental health has shown that some specific practices are effective in improving outcomes in the lives of people with severe mental illness. However, these practices are not widely offered in community mental health programs. One study, the Schizophrenia Patient Outcome Research Team (PORT), demonstrated that consumers with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in two state mental health systems were highly unlikely to receive effective services. For example, only 29.1% received the appropriate dosage of antipsychotic medication over the long term. About one-third (31.9%) were dosed above the recommended level. More than a third (39.1%) received less than the recommended dosage.

The Surgeon General commented on this disparity in his 1999 report on mental health: "Exciting new research-based advances are emerging that will enhance the delivery of treatments and services in areas crucial to consumers and families - employment, housing, and diversion of people with mental disorders out of the criminal justice systems. Yet a gap persists in the broad introduction and application of these advances in services delivery to local communities, and many people with mental illness are being denied the most up-to-date and advanced forms of treatment."

A number of initiatives have emerged to address these concerns. The Evidence-Based Practices Project, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of the projects that have been developed to assist implementation efforts.

How Do I Get a Toolkit?
To get the full benefit of these toolkits, we recommend that you attend our training classes, offered in various locations throughout North Carolina. Toolkits and other training materials are provided with these classes. Toolkits are also available from SAMHSA.