Center Highlights
Announcing new Development Center for Enhancing Evidence-Based Supported Employment with Technology
Sarah Lord, Ph.D., Director of Dissemination and Implementation at CTBH, and colleagues at the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center (PRC) were recently awarded a 5-year development center grant from the Department of Education, National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research. This grant will support the development of an integrated suite of technology-based tools and a data management system to enhance the delivery of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) supported employment.
Over the past 25 years, researchers at the Dartmouth PRC have firmly established the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment as an evidence-based practice to help people with serious mental illness obtain competitive employment and succeed as steady workers. The model embraces a community-based team support approach that encourages collaboration between consumer clients and teams comprised of employment specialists, vocational rehabilitation and mental health counselors, families and employers. The IPS model has been widely adopted nationally and internationally. A major mental health organization in Europe, Mental Health Europe, recently urged the European Union to adopt IPS supported employment for all young people with serious mental illness.
Information technology is the key to expanding access to IPS supported employment and building efficiencies in delivery of the intervention in the face of increasingly diminishing financial resources. This new Center combines the multi-disciplinary expertise, experience, and creativity of the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center and the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health. A range of technology-based self-management, collaboration, and data management products will be developed as part of an overall platform, called the IPS Management System, to enhance the availability, consumer-centeredness, service quality, expansion, effectiveness, and efficiency of vocational services for people with serious mental illness. Future implementation plans include adaptation of the technology platform to enhance IPS supported employment for individuals with other serious disabilities, including chronic back pain, spinal cord injury, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Just published! Special Issue on Technology and Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders
The Journal of Dual Diagnosis has just published a Special Issue of its journal on “Technology-Based Assessments and Interventions Targeting Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders: Innovations and Opportunities”. This Special Issue was Co-Edited by CTBH Director, Lisa A. Marsch, Ph.D. and CTBH Faculty Affiliate, Dror Ben-Zeev, Ph.D.
This Special Issue of the Journal of Dual Diagnosis (Volume 8, Issue 4, October-December 2012) features innovations in the use of Internet and mobile devices in the assessment, treatment, and recovery management of substance use disorders and/or psychiatric disorders. Articles in this issue feature a diverse array of technologies applied to a variety of populations (including persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, smokers, chronic substance users, and individuals with serious mental illness). Several articles are authored by CTBH Affiliates. These articles underscore the promise of digital media and information and communication technologies to enhance quality and access to effective behavioral health care.
This Special Issue is available at Taylor & Francis Online at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wjdd20/8/4
Post-Doctoral Fellowship Openings
The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) within the Psychiatric Research Center at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College (www.c4tbh.org) seeks to hire 2 Post-Doctoral Fellows.
CTBH is a P30 “Center of Excellence” funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Comprised of an interdisciplinary team of leaders in behavioral science and technology, CTBH aims to draw on the dynamic synergy between innovation, rigorous evaluation, and strategic dissemination to lead transformations in delivery of evidence-based behavioral health care using technology. Post-doctoral Fellows will have the opportunity to work with some of the top experts in technology and behavioral health in the country.
Fellows who join the CTBH team must be new PhDs who intend to develop a research career focused on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of technology-based therapeutic tools targeting substance use disorders and/or other areas of behavioral health.
One full-time Post-Doctoral fellow will join the CTBH team to primarily work on the development and implementation of research projects conducted within CTBH, statistical analyses, and manuscript writing in this area of research. These projects will largely focus on mobile and other technology-based interventions for the treatment of substance use disorders. This individual will primarily work with CTBH Director, Dr. Lisa A. Marsch, but will have the opportunity for mentorship and research collaborations with other CTBH Investigators.
A second Post-Doctoral fellow will be hired within CTBH to serve as Project Director under a new Center grant funded by the Department of Education with a particular focus on enhancing evidence-based supported employment with technology. The Project Director will oversee a program of research to develop and evaluate a suite of technology-based therapeutic tools to enhance delivery of Supported Employment for individuals with serious psychiatric disabilities. This individual will work primarily under the mentorship of Dr. Sarah Lord, Director of the Dissemination & Implementation Core within CTBH and Director of this grant. The position is part-time, with the potential to move to full-time status in the future.
Fellowships are for 2 years, with the option of progression into employment opportunities. Candidates should send their CV, a list of three professional references, three manuscript writing samples, and a cover letter to CTBH Operations Coordinator, Sonia Oren, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Applications will be reviewed upon receipt.
Dartmouth is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.
Lisa A. Marsch, PhD - Director of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health,
is featured in the most recent edition of Dartmouth Medicine: The Magazine of The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/
Center Launches in New Space at Dartmouth College
Established in July of 2011, The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) is housed within the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center (PRC) in Lebanon, NH. Offices are located on the fourth floor of the Rivermill Commercial Center, a renovated mill building on the Mascoma River that dates back to 1881. To accommodate the CTBH team, the PRC acquired and renovated additional office and conference room space in the same building. To mark the completion of renovations, PRC and CTBH members celebrated with an Open House. While an essential component of the CTBH is virtual, with an interdisciplinary team of researchers located in institutions across the country, this newly expanded space provides the Dartmouth team members with an enhanced work environment and room to grow.
Center Opens 2011-2012 Seminar Series
The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health has opened a monthly seminar series. These presentations feature members of both the Scientific and Dissemination & Implementation Advisory Boards and other distinguished collaborators. The goal is to educate the CTBH team about a given Board member’s area of expertise and the most cutting-edge developments in their field of relevance to the Center’s Aims. Featured speakers to date include David Gustafson, Ph.D., who spoke about the growing evidence-based for Smartphone systems to improve patient outcomes. Linda Collins, Ph.D., from Penn State discussed the innovative Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) for designing new behavioral interventions, and Robert Evans from Google presented PACO, his team’s open source mobile experience sampling research platform.
The seminar series is video recorded and available for viewing in the Seminar Series section of this website.