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/ BRIDGES
Service Description
Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association (TMHCA) is a statewide organization
representing mental health consumers that offers support to mental health
consumers through advocacy, peer support, and education. Funding for this
category is to support the infrastructure of TMHCA and to fund the BRIDGES
education program. BRIDGES, which stands for Building Recovery of Individual
Dreams and Goals through Education and Support, is a peer-taught course
on mental illness, mental health treatment, and self-help skills.
The contract is with the Tennessee Disability Coalition to manage and
oversee a subcontract with TMHCA. The Tennessee Disability Coalition provides
administrative and fiscal support to TMHCA. TMHCA has hired staff to oversee,
develop, and sustain the BRIDGES educational program.
Why do we fund it?
Funding is provided for consumers to become better educated about mental
illness and treatment; by becoming more educated, consumers can take more
control over their life—knowledge = power.
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Whom does it serve?
The program serves adults who are diagnosed with mental illness and co-occurring
disorders.
What are the outcomes?
Participants are empowered through psycho-education and peer support to
recover a restructured sense of self and to find new meaning in life.
In the process of learning about mental illness and its treatment, participants
become able to put their symptoms into context, work toward life roles
of their choosing, and begin to affect change in their social environment.
The annual report from TMHCA reflects that more than 3,000 consumers
in FY04 participated in either a BRIDGES educational class or support
group. A book has been written entitled “Back from Wherever I’ve
Been,” which chronicles the positive impact of BRIDGES upon the
life of 75 mental health consumers.
Is there research, evidence-based practice,
best practice, or literature to support the service?
The BRIDGES program is an example of psychoeducation, which is one of
the key components of Illness Management and Recovery, which in turn has
been identified by SAMHSA as one of the six SAMHSA-approved evidence-based
practice (Implementation Resource Kit User’s Guide). Illness Management
and Recovery is based upon research that demonstrates that education increases
knowledge about mental illness which decreases symptoms, reduces relapses
and rehospitalizations, and assists consumers in making progress toward
goals and recovery (Golman, 1988; MacPherson, Jerrom, and Hughes, 1996).
BRIDGES is also an example of a peer-operated service. Given the consistency
of the findings of decreased hospitalization or shortened length of hospital
stay for peer provided services and peer providers themselves, there is
a translation of financial savings to the system as hospitalization is
one of the most expensive of mental health services (Clarke, 2000; Sherman
& Porter, 1991). BRIDGES will be a part of a study to be conducted
by the UIC Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy, which
will examine its efficacy as an evidence-based practice.
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