Participant feedback offers insight into mental health treatment completion

Individuals within the criminal legal system, especially those with mental illness, face challenges completing mental health treatment, despite research exploring potential reasons. A recent study by Melissa Villodas incorporates a new perspective previously not considered — that of the individuals who are receiving these treatments themselves. Villodas’ exploration of participant feedback highlights the importance of input from incarcerated men about what keeps them in treatment:

• Interventions can achieve higher completion rates among incarcerated men with mental illness when delivered with their unique psychological and behavioral needs in mind. 

• Treatment completion can be improved by tailoring interventions based on participant feedback (e.g., adjusting the length of treatment sessions based on individual preference and cognitive ability).  

• Individuals who completed the treatment were more likely to be younger with fewer years of incarceration, while those who were older with longer incarceration were less likely to complete treatment. 

• System-level adjustments (e.g., balancing safety, accountability, and treatment) may also enhance treatment completion among this overrepresented population in criminal legal contexts.  

This study used a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach to examine treatment completion rates and clinical characteristics of participants with mental illness engaging in an adapted intervention targeting factors that influence criminal behavior. It is among the first to combine participant feedback with data on treatment completion and clinical characteristics. 

Anna Parisi, assistant professor of social work, is a co-author of the manuscript. Amy Blank Wilson from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, served as the intervention’s principal investigator. Additional contributors include George Mason University Master of Social Work graduate Chole Pilkerton; Jonathan Phillips, University of Minnesota Duluth; Ehren Dohler, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Faith Scanlon, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

About the researcher 

Melissa Villodas is a researcher who believes context matters and that centering the perspectives of those most affected by efforts to improve mental health leads to more innovative and effective change.