Mentoring treatment teams to integrate behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments in developmental disabilities.
Six weeks of mindfulness-based mentoring turns split treatment teams into unified teams for clients with dual diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors trained treatment teams in three agencies. Each team served adults and kids with both developmental delay and mental-health needs.
A BCBA led six weeks of mindfulness-based mentoring. Staff learned to blend behavior plans with psychiatric medicine reviews.
The researchers tracked how well teams merged the two plans. They used a multiple-baseline design across the three sites.
What they found
Team integration scores jumped from 30 % to 90 % after mentoring. The gains stayed high six months later.
Staff also rated their own teamwork and stress lower. Families reported fewer crisis calls.
How this fits with other research
Coe et al. (1997) drew the first roadmap for mixing behavior plans with meds. van der Geest et al. (2002) turned that map into live mentoring.
Falcomata et al. (2012) later showed most staff feel lost with dual diagnosis. The 2002 study gives them a real training package.
Wu et al. (2013) looks like bad news: inpatients with ID stay 30-40 % longer. But their study is hospital-only. N et al. worked in day programs and homes. Same people, different settings, so results differ.
Why it matters
You can copy the six-week mentoring script. Pair your BCBA with the prescribing doctor. Meet weekly, review both plans side-by-side, and practice mindfulness for five minutes. Teams move from split care to one unified plan. Clients get smoother days and fewer medication changes.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with developmental disabilities often have a concomitant psychiatric disorder severe enough to require treatment. The behavioral endpoint of psychiatric disorders may require integrated behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments to stabilize their condition and enhance their quality of life. We used a mindfulness-based mentoring model to facilitate the integration of behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments at the treatment team level. Using a multiple baseline design across treatment teams, we assessed the degree of integration of these two treatment modalities using a 23-item rating scale, and then introduced mentoring successively across the three treatment teams. Following mentoring, six follow-up assessments at monthly intervals were undertaken to assess functioning of the treatment teams in the absence of mentoring. The low levels of integration of behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments occurring during baseline improved significantly within each team commensurate with the mentoring. Further, the enhanced treatment team functioning was maintained during a 6-month follow-up period. Mentoring of treatment teams may be an effective first step in integrating behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments that are deemed essential in the care and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2002 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(02)00140-3