Effectiveness of a Community-Based Crisis Resolution Team for Patients with Severe Mental Illness in Greece: A Prospective Observational Study

This prospective observational study evaluated the effectiveness of a crisis resolution team ( CRT) for outpatient treatment of psychiatric patients experiencing an acute episode of severe mental disorder. The effectiveness of the CRT (n = 65) was assessed against the care-as-usual [CAU group (n = 65)]. Patients’ clinical state, overall functioning, quality of life and satisfaction were respectively evaluated at baseline, post intervention and three-month post-intervention. CRT patients compared to the CAU group, had significantly improved outcomes concerning clinical state and patient satisfaction at post intervention phase. Statistically significant improvement was also recorded for the dimensions of environment, physical and psychological health related to quality of life. No significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding overall functioning. On the basis of these results, reforming of existing crisis-management services, in Greece, using the CRT model may improve substantially the services offered to psychiatric patients.