GREMAP PhD student Natalie Bareis attended the 18th annual conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders in Amsterdam. At the conference, she gave a presentation titled “Client Centered Treatment to Optimize Psychiatric Medication Adherence: Empirically Identifying the Construct of Clinical Net Benefit”

This presentation demonstrates the concept of the client-centered conceptual framework Clinical Net Benefit, using the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD). This is a three dimensional model of individuals’ balance between tolerating: 1) psychiatric symptom reduction, 2) adverse effects from medications, and 3) overall functioning when taking psychiatric medications and resulting levels of adherence to those specific medications. Using latent class techniques to identify unique classes of Clinical Net Benefit can aid mental health practitioners in tailoring medication regimens by determining the class their client belongs to and the resulting medication regimens that have the highest adherence rates.