Implementing evidence-based practices for people with severe mental illness.
A 2003 project turned six evidence-based mental-health treatments into plug-and-play manuals that later studies proved can travel safely to everyday clinics.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Martin et al. (2003) mapped out how to move six proven mental-health treatments from journals to real clinics.
They asked doctors, case managers, clients, and families to co-write step-by-step manuals for each program.
The goal was to give every adult with severe mental illness the same high-quality care no matter where they lived.
What they found
The team finished full implementation packages for all six practices, ready for front-line staff to use.
No outcome data were reported; the paper simply describes how the packages were built and what each one contains.
How this fits with other research
Eldevik et al. (2026) later showed that one of these six packages—Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention—produces large IQ and adaptive gains when delivered at scale, proving the 2003 blueprint can bear fruit.
Ferguson et al. (2020) and Sievers et al. (2020) extended the idea by running community clinics that kept the same manuals alive without university help, showing the packages stay sharp after the trainers leave.
Smith (2013) updated the call, telling ABA clinicians to bundle single-case findings into manuals just like T et al. did, but for autism instead of mental illness.
Why it matters
If you run or consult in adult mental-health services, these ready-made manuals save you from reinventing the wheel. You can lift the staffing plans, fidelity checklists, and training slides straight into your agency and focus on coaching staff instead of writing curricula.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Persons with severe mental illnesses (SMI) often lack access to effective treatments. The authors describe the Implementing Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) Project, designed to increase access for people with SMI to empirically supported interventions. The EBP Project aims to improve access through development of standardized implementation packages, created in collaboration with different stakeholders, including clinicians, consumers, family members, clinical supervisors, program leaders, and mental health authorities. The background and philosophy of the EBP Project are described, including the six EBPs identified for initial package development: collaborative psychopharmacology, assertive community treatment, family psychoeducation, supported employment, illness management and recovery skills, and integrated dual disorders treatment. The components of the implementation packages are described as well as the planned phases of the project. Improving access to EBPs for consumers with SMI may enhance outcomes in a cost-effective manner, helping them pursue their personal recovery goals with the support of professionals, family, and friends.
Behavior modification, 2003 · doi:10.1177/0145445503027003007