Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting: Randomized Controlled Trial

Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting (CTI-TS)is delivered by lay Community Mental Health Workers (CMHWs) and Peer Support Workers (PSWs) based in mental health outpatient service programs (MHS) and supervised by mental health professionals. These workers provide community outreach and support to engage service users, their families, primary care practitioners, peers and other community members in the recovery process. The CTI-TS program is concerned with improving supports for people recovering from episodes of mental illness. Examples of areas where extra support may be provided include medication management, housing or crisis management, help with the family, help obtaining good services from mental health centers and primary health centers, and help developing social relationships in the community. The program is provided by a CTI-TS team, including a community mental health worker and a peer support worker (someone who has used mental health services in the past, and has recovered). All of the CTI-TS activities will last 9 months. The evaluation of how people fare will last 18 months. The activities of CTI-TS will be in addition to the usual care provided by the subject's local health service. Usual care might include meeting with a mental health professional, meeting with a social worker, and/or obtaining prescriptions for medicine. This study will compare how people fare who have participated in the CTI-TS activities against the group of people who received only the regular services of this community mental health center. As part of the study, a trained researcher will meet with each subject for an interview at the beginning of the project, again 9 months later, and again after 18 months. These interviews will ask questions about how the subject is doing with his/her health and quality of life, and if the subject is getting help or support with problems.