outcomes & research

Treatment Outcomes for Adults and Adolescents in Mental Health Residential and Day Treatment

Skyland Trail is a trailblazer in the area of outcomes research, which is an integral part of our evidence-based treatment model. Our robust outcomes and research program employs evaluative instruments considered to be the gold standards in the mental health field to measure the effectiveness of our treatment programs.

When patients begin treatment at Skyland Trail, they complete assessments measuring their symptom severity, attitude toward medication adherence, hope for the future, level of functioning, senses of self efficacy and relationships with others, and physical health. We measure those indicators again when they complete their treatment.

Specialized instruments based on diagnoses and symptoms provide a more detailed picture of the effectiveness of specific treatment programs for bipolar illness, major depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety.

Most patients have reduced symptoms as a result of treatment, and our outcomes data indicate that many patients make even more progress. They experience a clinically meaningful change – one that science has shown impacts how a patient feels and functions.

For many patients, this also means achieving remission. Based on cutoffs established in the psychiatric literature, remission means that the level of symptoms present no longer meets criteria for the diagnosis.

2023 Key Outcomes

In 2023, measured outcomes confirm that our evidence-based psychiatric care, together with our holistic path to wellness, is effective. Simply put, our patients get better.

Adult Patients

  • 78% of patients reported mild hopelessness or no hopelessness at discharge 1
  • 90% of patients reported positive feelings towards taking psychiatric medication at discharge 2
  • 65% of patients with severe anxiety at admission who completed the program experienced clinically significant reduction in anxiety symptoms at discharge 3
  • 67% of patients who completed the program experienced mild to no depression symptoms at discharge 4
  • 100% of patients with bipolar disorder who completed the program experienced remission of mania symptoms at discharge 5

Adolescent Patients

  • 86% of patients who completed Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy experienced clinically significant reduction in PTSD symptoms 6
  • 79% of patients who completed the program experienced mild or no depression symptoms at discharge 7
  • 59% of residential patients who completed the program reported anxiety symptoms at or below the average at discharge 8

Footnotes: 1 Beck Hopelessness Scale: Beck AT, Weissman A, Lester D, Trexler L. (1074). The measurement of pessimism: The Hopelessness Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(6), 861-865. 2 Medication Attitude Inventory: Hogan TP, Awad AG, & Eastwood R. (1983). A self-report scale predictive of drug compliance in schizophrenics: reliability and discriminative validity. Psychological Medicine, 13, 177-183. 3 Hamilton M: The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 32:50-55,1959. 4 Montgomery, S.A. & Åsberg, M. (1979). A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 382-389. 5 Young RC, Biggs JT, Ziegler VE, Meyer DA: A rating scale for mania: reliability, validity and sensitivity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 133:429-435, 1978. 6 Blevins, C. A., Weathers, F. W., Davis, M. T., Witte, T. K., & Domino, J. L. (2015). The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation. Journal of traumatic stress, 28(6), 489–498. 7 Dozois, D. J. A., Dobson, K. S., & Ahnberg, J. L. (1998). A psychometric evaluation of the Beck Depression Inventory–II. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 83–89. 8 March, J.S., Parker, J.D.A., Sullivan, K., Stallings, P., Conners, C. K. (1997). The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC): Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(4), 554–565.

Research & Publications

Article: Technology-enhanced in vivo exposures in Prolonged Exposure for PTSD: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Journal of Psychiatric Research November 2022
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Article: Training Engagement, Baseline Cognitive Functioning, and Cognitive Gains with Computer Cognitive Training: A Cross-Diagnostic Study
Schizophrenia Research: Cognition 2020;19
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Poster: Screening, Delivering and Measuring Outcomes For Cognitive Remediation Training in a Private Non-Profit Community Mental Health Setting
Presented: IPS, The Mental Health Services Conference 2017
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Article: Measuring and Facilitating Client Engagement with Financial Incentives: Implications for Improving Clinical Outcomes in a Mental Health Setting
Community Mental Health Journal 2016;9: 1-9
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Article: Systematic Study of Structured Diagnostic Procedures in Outpatient Psychiatric Rehabilitation: A Three-year, Three-cohort Study of the Stability of Psychiatric Diagnoses
Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience 2013;10(5-6):14-19
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Poster: A Model Wellness Intervention Aimed at Reducing Cardiometabolic Syndrome Risk Associated with Psychotropic Medications
Presented: APA Annual Meeting 2015
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