title: Financial Health and Mental Health Among Clients of a Community Mental Health Center: Making the Connections.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated financial challenges, satisfaction with financial-management supports, and interest in additional or alternative supports among clients of a mental health center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six focus groups were held with 39 clients of an urban community mental health center who reported having difficulty with their finances. Five focus groups were held with direct-care staff who provided services to the clients. Investigators used an inductive analytical approach to distill themes from notes taken during the focus groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clients emphasized the challenges of living in poverty and described using complex strategies to sustain themselves, including negotiating benefits systems, carefully planning purchases, and developing and relying on social relationships. They spoke of having uneven access to tools and services for managing their money, such as advice from direct-care staff, representative payees, and bank accounts, and had varying opinions about their value. Noting concerns similar to those of clients, direct-care staff expressed frustration at the lack of support services for helping clients manage their finances. Both clients and staff expressed the need for more services to help clients with their finances.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest a need for more services to support people with mental illness to manage their finances, particularly a more flexible and broader range of options than are provided by current representative-payee mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clayton
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Foss-Kelly
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sernyak
authors.affiliation: Dr. Harper and Dr. Rowe are with the Program for Recovery and Community Health and Ms. Clayton is with the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: annie.harper@yale.edu ). Ms. Bailey and Dr. Sernyak are with the Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, and Dr. Sernyak is also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven. Dr. Foss-Kelly is with the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rowe
mesh_terms: D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D003237:Connecticut; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000191:economics; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000191:economics*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics*; D012944:Social Support; D014505:Urban Population