An uncontrolled, naturalistic design was used with sequential admissions. The treatment milieu draws on several simultaneous treatment approaches and a shared case formulation approach to integrate the different elements. Outcome data on 36 of 38 discharged patients will be presented. The pre-treatment data show that they are a severely disabled group who had been unresponsive to previous treatment approaches. The approach enables staff to feel supported and to maintain therapeutic optimism in a group of patients who are often marginalized within the care-delivery system.
Caution is needed in interpreting results from an uncontrolled trial using a multi-modal approach.