Benefits Management for People With Psychiatric Disabilities

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This stage 1 clinical trial will determine pilot efficacy, develop a therapy manual, and collect qualitative data concerning a brief money management intervention for people disabled by psychiatric illnesses.

Official Title
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Benefits Management for People With Psychiatric Disabilities

Conditions
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Dual Diagnosis, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Benefits Management
* Behavioral: Illness Management and Recovery


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Has received treatment for a psychiatric disorder within 60 days of enrollment Receives SSI or SSDI payments totaling at least $600 per month Has an identified outpatient clinician Either i) Homeless within the past 3 months. Homeless is defined as having spent at least seven days in a shelter, outdoors (e.g. in a park, in a car), in a public or abandoned building (e.g. train station), or temporarily (less than a continuous month) housed by family or friends OR ii) Hospitalized within the past 3 months Justification for Inclusion Criteria: Homelessness and hospitalization are common reasons for payee assignment (Conrad, Matters et al. 1998). In a prior study, we found that a high proportion of hospitalized inpatients meet criteria for needing a payee (Rosen, Rosenheck et al. 2002a). There is no point enrolling clinically stable outpatients in this study because they are unlikely to need payees. Exclusion Criteria: Already has a conservator or representative payee An application to assign a payee or conservator has been initiated Unable to speak and understand English

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Benefits Management<br>Money-management intervention consisting of brief advice on budgeting, assessment of ability to follow a budget, and assessment of need for a representative payee. | Behavioral: Benefits Management<br>* Money-management intervention consisting of brief advice on budgeting, assessment of ability to follow a budget, and assessment of need for a representative payee.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Illness Management and Recovery<br> | Behavioral: Illness Management and Recovery<br>* Recovery Oriented Training in Biopsychosocial Model of Stress and How to Cope with Stress<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in the Summed score on the Heinrich-Carpenter Quality of Life Measure | The Heinrich-Carpenter Quality of Life score is derived by summing ratings of individual items after a semi-structured interview. The possible score on any given interview is 0-126. It is a global measure of social functioning with higher scores indicating better functioning. | Change from Week 0 to Week 24 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Disability, Social Security, Representative Payee