ABSTRACT

This chapter explores issues to consider when caring for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) who are living with advanced or terminal illness. We review disparities in morbidity and mortality, as well as in healthcare access, utilization, and quality of care. We then describe innovative integrative care models and explore substance use disorders and specific mental disorders and related comorbidities, including schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, mood disorders, suicidal ideations and desire for death, anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. A case example woven throughout the chapter conveys the complexities inherent in caring for SMI populations with advanced serious illness.