Dr. Susan Partovi directs the Substance Use Disorder Integrated Services team, which focuses on what she describes as the “small sub-group of people who won’t accept housing because of their mental illness” even though “housing definitely saves your life.”
The team, which includes an addiction specialist, a psychiatric pharmacist, and a social worker, often has to make multiple contacts before a person agrees to accept medication.
As Steve Lopez reports for the Los Angeles Times, success requires that “you get to know people, their routines, their histories, even their pets. [When a] connection [i]s made, [that’s] the first step in building trust.” When people decide to take medication, it often isn’t effective to prescribe a month long supply of pills. That’s because “people often lose their daily medication … Or they forget to take it. Or it gets stolen, or swept away in storms or street-cleaning sweeps. [Thus,] a month-long dose can up the chances of turning things around.”
Then, as Dr. Partovi told the Los Angeles Times, “once you treat their delusions and their irrationality … the ‘word salad’ dissipates, patients express themselves more clearly … [and] they start to realize …. Oh, I do need resources,” That’s why, as Lopez reports, when the team “administers medication that lasts a month and can help stabilize patients — with their consent — they’ve got a chance.”