Three New York State mental health treatment facilities participating in a project to decrease the use of seclusion and restraint for children with severe emotional disorders demonstrated significant decreases in restraint and seclusion episodes per 1,000 client-days, according to a report published online Friday in Psychiatric Services in Advance titled "The New York State Office of Mental Health Positive Alternatives to Restraint and Seclusion (PARS) Project." Moreover, each facility identified specific activities that contributed to success, including ways to facilitate open, respectful two-way communication between management and staff and between staff and youth, and greater involvement of youth in program decision making.
The intervention used by the three facilities included training, on-site mentors and peer specialists, and on-site consultation from the Office of Technical Assistance of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). The intervention’s primary methodology was implementation of NASMHPD’s “Six Core Strategies to Reduce the Use of Seclusion and Restraint.”
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