Network therapy: an outcome study of twelve social networks

Twelve social networks received a course of network therapy at the Mount Tom Institute in Holyoke, Massachusetts, by the Network Therapy Project. A total of twenty-five 3-hour meetings included 201 participants. A study was conducted examining the number and type of service contacts in the clients' central medical files three months prior to the completion of network therapy and at two 3-months intervals after therapy was terminated. Entries were made in clients' charts by case managers, by crisis team staff, and by other mental health professionals. An historical comparison group was studied by randomly choosing 12 clients from the 19 referred for network therapy who did not receive this treatment. The comparison group showed an overall 17% decrease in service utilization after the date of referral, compared to a 76% decrease postnetwork therapy in the treatment group. The difference between the group outcomes was statistically significant.