The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded a Project Grant (CFDA 93.242: Mental Health Research Grants) totaling $768,172 to Butler Hospital, a division of the Care New England Health System, to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) for serious mental illness (SMI) when implemented in a community mental health setting. The key objectives are to: 1) test the effectiveness of MBT for improving outcomes in patients with SMI, including schizophrenia-spectrum and major mood disorders, when delivered by frontline clinicians at a community mental health center; 2) develop and implement a certified training program to enable community clinicians to provide MBT; and 3) collect implementation data from diverse community partners to promote future uptake of MBT as an evidence-based practice for SMI care. The project will randomize 160 SMI patients to receive either treatment as usual or treatment as usual plus MBT, with blinded assessments at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 weeks. Findings could enable the integration of this efficacious psychological intervention into routine community-based mental healthcare, potentially reducing health disparities for this patient population.
Generated 3/4/25, 8:30 AM