Studies

In support of its mission to improve the quality and effectiveness of behavioral health care, Centerstone’s Institute for Clinical Excellence and Innovation has been a committed leader in behavioral health research and technology-enabled care since its inception.

Centerstone’s Institute for Clinical Excellence and Innovation has conducted projects and research studies in areas including integrated care, addiction recovery, pharmacogenomics and treatments for depression and schizophrenia.

The following is a selection of projects and studies in which Centerstone’s Institute for Clinical Excellence and Innovation is currently involved.

Programming and Evaluation

Ending Homelessness for Veteran Families in Middle Tennessee 

• Program of Centerstone, funded by the Supportive Services for Veteran Families.
• Serves eligible veteran families to help prevent homelessness.
• Provides outreach, case management, and benefit achievement assistance.
• Services include health care, daily living, financial planning, transportation, legal, childcare, housing counseling, and fiduciary services.
• The program has been regarded as a national “mentor” program to coach and guide other veterans’ service providers.
• Of the 390 families served, 90% achieve stable housing before program completion.

BE Well Integrated Healthcare

• Program of Centerstone, funded by SAMHSA.
• Seeks to integrate physical and mental healthcare at Bloomington, Indiana clinic.
• Addresses significant health disparities seen in individuals with mental illness.
• Provides medical care, wellness education, nutritional counseling, peer support, and physical activity instruction.
• Participants show significant reductions in weight loss, blood pressure, and diabetes risk.

Electronic Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care

• v-Recover.com
• Program of Centerstone, funded by SAMHSA.
• Serves individuals seeking addictions recovery services.
• Combines formal addictions treatment with access to community supports and services and online personal recovery tools.
• Provides life skills training, assistance with setting and monitoring goals, and facilitate access to community agencies and groups to help the individual achieve and sustain recovery.
• Successful in moving individuals from high-intensity addiction recovery services to medium and low-intensity services.
• Watch a video about this program.

My Health, My Choice, My Life

• Program of Centerstone’s Institute for Clinical Excellence and Innovation in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, funded by SAMHSA.
• Adds peer-led holistic wellness programs to existing behavioral health services for individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders.
• Aims to help people with chronic illness gain self-confidence and control over health management.
• Research provides evaluation services for the program to produce data that informs policy change at the local, state, and national levels.
• Program impact is high with at 70% of the participants showing statistically positive change at the end of the program.

Tennessee Lives Count: A Suicide Prevention Initiative for the Juvenile Justice System

• Program of Centerstone’s Institute for Clinical Excellence and Innovation in partnership with the TN Department of Mental Health, funded by SAMHSA.
• Serves youth in juvenile justice facilities.
• Works to prevent suicidal behavior that is common among detained youth.
• Research evaluated the youth facility staff suicide prevention program, ASIST.
• Research developed and evaluated a curriculum specially designed for youth facility staff entitled, Shield of Care.
• Data suggested that the staff training program prepared participants to recognize early warning signs of suicide and appropriately refer suicidal youth to mental health providers.

Clinical Studies

High Dose Lurasidone for Patients with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia patients who are treatment-resistant will be given an opportunity to participate in a trial that could alleviate their moderate to severe symptoms. While under supervision, participants in this study will receive an adequate dose of an atypical antipsychotic (lurasidone) to treat their previously unmanageable cases.

Investigation of the Integrity of Cerebellar-mediated Timing Functions in Schizophrenia

The purpose of this study is to better understand how eye movements are related to information processing in healthy people and people diagnosed with schizophrenia. We will specifically be examining the learning, unlearning, and timing of automatic eye-blinks. Because much is known about brain areas that control these automatic eye-blinks, we will learn more about the relationship between these brain areas and other aspects about how the brain handles information.

IRT-based Self-report Screener for Prodromal and Early Psychosis

This study is designed to develop new surveys for youth and young adults to assist with early detection of psychosis, leading to significantly improved treatment for this illness. The study will evaluate feelings and experiences that are relevant to youth and young adults like those being served at Centerstone.

Extended Duration Pharmacotherapy for Prevention of Relapse to Smoking

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of 40 weeks, extended-duration varenicline and CBT, compared with placebo and CBT, for prevention of relapse to smoking in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The main hypothesis was that the varenicline group would achieve greater abstinence at the end of the 40-week, double-blind, relapse-prevention phase than the placebo control group. The study was published in the January 2014 issue of JAMA.