Report presents framework to promote evidence-based psychosocial interventions

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine presents a framework for bringing evidence-based psychosocial interventions into clinical practice to improve outcomes for people with mental health and substance use disorders. Among other actions, the report recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services adopt the framework to promote the use of evidence-based interventions and the development of measures to assess the quality of care for these disorders. “While the evidence base for the effectiveness of interventions to treat these disorders is sizable, a considerable gap exists between what is known to be effective and interventions that are actually delivered in clinical care,” the report states. “Addressing this quality chasm in mental health and substance use care is particularly critical given the recent passage of the [Affordable Care Act] and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which are changing the delivery of care and access to treatments for mental health and substance use disorders.”