Recent advances in shared decision making for mental health.
OBJECTIVE
Shared decision making (SDM) in nonmental health populations has documented positive services and health benefits. To advance integration of SDM into mental healthcare, researchers have outlined several priorities for future research. These include (1) clarifying the role of SDM in mental healthcare; (2) understanding patient and provider perspectives on SDM; (3) assessment of SDM practice in mental health settings; and (4) outcomes of SDM in mental health populations. This article will review recent advances in these areas.


RESULTS
The current literature shows that SDM can play a role in the mental health treatment process from entry into care to recovery. Patients and providers find SDM acceptable and express a willingness to engage in SDM for reasons that are multifactorial. Barriers to SDM exist in mental health decision making including patient preferences and provider-level biases. Lastly, outcome research provides encouraging preliminary evidence for feasibility and effectiveness of SDM during the mental health encounter.


CONCLUSIONS
Although there have not been a great number of SDM studies in mental health to date, the positive effects of SDM are comparable to those documented in general nonmental health patient groups, suggesting that future research has the potential to result in findings that are likely to be helpful for patients with psychiatric disorders.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. sp2309@columbia.edu
Sapana R
SR
Patel
Suzanne
S
Bakken
Cornelia
C
Ruland
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008603:Mental Health; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*