ABSTRACT
Mental health services research formally was established in 1956 with amendments to the U.S. National Mental Health Act (NIMH, 1991). The roots of the research domain are in investigations that examined the public psychiatric hospitalization, from admission to care within the facility, and finally, to discharge (Hohmann, 1999; Mechanic, 1989). As the nature of care for adults with severe mental illness (SMI) has grown more complex, so too has the research. But the purpose of this research has remained steadfastly focused on ensuring the most effective care for those suffering from severe psychiatric disorders, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life of those affected by these disorders as well as their family caregivers (Hohmann, 1999). Consistent with this purpose the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a plan in 1991 titled Caring for People with Severe Mental Disorders: A National Plan of Research to Improve Services. Two more recent reports assessing the status of care for persons with mental illness also issued by the U.S. federal government have called for research in this domain in order to transform the mental health system of care nationally, The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) and Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999) . The Surgeon General’s Report noted the “importance of a solid research base for every mental health and mental illness intervention,” for “establishing mental health policy on the basis of good intentions alone can make bad situations worse” (p. viii). In this presentation we will examine what some of the accomplishments of this research domain have been and where it needs to go in the future.
