BEYOND THE PRESCRIPTION PAD: PSYCHOTHERAPY INTERVENTIONS FOR YOUTH WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS AND TREATMENT NONADHERENCE

Objectives: Youth with severe mental illness (SMI) adhere poorly to the recommended medications and other treatments, with prevalence of nonadherence ranging between 30 and 60 percent. Medication nonadherence is multifactorial, but the root causes can be both analyzed and minimized by a strong therapeutic alliance and understanding of the psychological and social factors. Therefore, CAPs are in a unique position to introduce components of evidence-based psychotherapies into their clinical practice to address treatment nonadherence, even in settings outside of the traditional psychotherapy encounter. This session will introduce strategies based on evidence- based psychotherapies that may be used to address this common problem. Methods: A review of the rationale for the presentations on treatment nonadherence in SMI will be provided. Dr. David Miklowitz will present his work on family-focused therapy. Dr. Blaise Aguirre will present strategies rooted in dialectical behavior therapy. Dr. Victor Fornari will bridge behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy interventions using psychodynamically informed strategies for developing a therapeutic alliance. Results: With translation of both research and innovative clinical approaches, this session uses different psychotherapeutic strategies that can be used to address treatment nonadherence in youth with SMI. Dr. Sergio Delgado will be our expert discussant to lead and moderate the panel to allow for audience participation and questions. Conclusions: CAPs working with SMI youth can use modular psychotherapy techniques in a variety of treatment settings to address treatment nonadherence.