The Whole Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts

The Challenge

A federally funded, multistate organization is charged with enhancing, accelerating, and supporting the adoption and use of evidence-based practices. A training survey they conducted revealed a significant interest in Illness Management and Recovery and Integrated Dual Disorder treatments. Because Enhanced Illness Management Recovery (E-IMR) combines the practices and principles of both of these approaches in an integrated, cohesive intervention, the organization asked the Center, the creator of E-IMR, to train their members in this evidence-informed intervention.

The Process

Our training team traveled to the organization’s regional centers to provide the intensive in- person training. This was followed by ongoing consultation that included interactive online learning and live video consultation. Online learning modules reinforced the training material and provided a means for reporting on specific skills used with clients. Practitioners reported their progress as well as their struggles through online discussion boards where they received support and feedback from their peers and trainers who monitored the discussion and ensured a positive experience.

The Result

This evidence-informed intervention is now more widely disseminated and is bringing into practice the agency’s goal of providing integrated, cohesive intervention. Additional training of practitioners is ongoing. One participant, licensed as an alcohol and drug counseling and a mental health clinician, shared his experience during a consultation meeting, “E-IMR provides evidence-based practices in a manner that is easy for our patients to understand in a curriculum that can be divided into sequential sessions. It also incorporates elements of person-centered care, which has been a major initiative within our programs. In sum, E-IMR appears to be an ideal fit for our patients with co-occurring disorders as well as for our treatment calendar, which usually involves weekly 45-minute sessions.”