A New Psychosocial Tool for Gaining Patient Understanding and Acceptance of Long-acting Injectable Antipsychotic...

Nonadherence to antipsychotic medications in serious, persistent mental illness remains a significant clinical challenge. Long-acting therapy was developed to help improve adherence to schizophrenia therapy and provide an effective means for ameliorating symptoms and preventing relapse. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research/National Institute of Mental Health Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team recommends that antipsychotic long-acting therapy be strongly considered for patients who have difficulty adhering to an oral medication regimen or who prefer long-acting therapy. Depot conventional formulations have long been available; for clinicians and patients who would rather use an atypical antipsychotic, studies with risperidone long-acting therapy suggest that it is efficacious and well tolerated. A common concern of clinicians who elect to initiate long-acting therapy is how to introduce the possibility of changing from the current oral antipsychotic to an long-acting therapy injection. As with other aspects of patient care, having an established therapeutic relationship with the patient is advantageous for recommending changes in care, but the way in which the idea is approached may improve the likelihood of its acceptance. To help clinicians broach a recommendation of long-acting therapy with their patients, the GAIN approach was designed as a standard interview process for presenting this option. It encompasses (and is an acronym for) goal setting, action planning, initiating treatment, and nurturing motivation. This novel clinical tool is based on the principles of motivational enhancement therapy, a patient-centered approach that seeks to evoke the patient's own motivation for change, to consolidate the decision to change, and to plan for change. This tool is also based on the Listen-Empathize-Agree-Partner, or LEAP, communication strategy. Motivational enhancement therapy, which is typically brief, has been found effective in several chronic illnesses in both outpatient and inpatient settings. GAIN may be a practical tool for aligning clinician-patient expectations and enhancing long-term maintenance of therapy.