LifeMAX® Inpatient Mental Healthcare

In 1974, the parent company of LifeMAX® Systems firstly began to develop inpatient programs to meet the mounting demands for accountability and cost-containment in the private sector whilst satisfying the primary consideration; namely, clinical care of the highest quality. Every program implemented has been successful clinically and financially, even under adverse economic and regulatory conditions.

Each LifeMAX® installation is tailored individually to both the clinical and financial needs of each client-hospital. Since few mental healthcare professionals and hospital staffs are well-acquainted with biobehaviorally-based therapies, LifeMAX® inpatient programs are designed to be implemented without formal training in the biobehavioral orientation.

Comprehensive, systems-based, user-friendly, and designed for ongoing, quantitative measurement of clinical progress, LifeMAX® programs have offered features found in no other inpatient programs. LifeMAX® inpatient programs have been implemented in hospitals in California, New Jersey, and New York. Categories of client-hospitals have included proprietary hospital chains; non-profit hospital chains; independent, proprietary hospitals; independent, non-profit hospitals; university hospitals; government hospitals. Tens of thousands of patients have benefitted from these programs. The results have been published in highly respected, peer-review, professional journals.*

LifeMAX® In-Hospital Programs

Adolescent Psychiatry: The LifeMAX® Adolescent Treatment Program is based upon the following, four cornerstones: 1) a basic hospital program of staff-patient interaction using a point system designed to provide a consistent milieu in which the adolescent can operate without conflicting or destructive demands by the immediate environment; 2) an individualized treatment program involving a variety of modalities, such as individual therapy, group therapy, medication (only when indicated and appropriate), vocational guidance, and development of social skills; 3) family therapy through which the dynamics of familial interaction are analyzed, pinpointing problem areas and targeting specific goals via individually-tailored planning; and 4) community liaison with the patient's school and others, as indicated, to develop constructive environmental support outside the home.

1. Moss, G.R. and Mann, R.A.: A behavioral approach to the hospital treatment of adolescents. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America 1:263-275 (1978)

2. Moss, G.R. and Rick, G.R.: Overview: Applications of operant technology to behavioral disorders of adolescents. American Journal Of Psychiatry 138:1161-1169 (1981)

Adult Psychiatry: The LifeMAX® Adult Treatment Program utilizes structured, patient-staff interaction based upon principles of social reinforcement; a schedule of integrated, programmatic activities and therapeutic interventions; and a quantitative system of measurement by staff, using a standardized instrument developed by LifeMAX®. Each patient's individually-tailored treatment plan is specified in a standard problem-oriented medical record (POMR). Each treatment plan includes individual therapy; group therapies; occupation and recreational therapies (such as leisure skills training, relaxation training, and social skills training); individual family and group family therapies; and liaisons with community resources, as directed by the attending clinician. All ancillary therapies are integrated under the treatment goals specified in the POMR using nursing diagnoses. The LifeMAX® Program has been documented to operate successfully even in adverse economic and regulatory environments.

1. Brown, R.A. and Moss, G.R.: Reliability and validation of a psychiatric assessment instrument for the hospital treatment of adults. Psychological Reports 51 :142 (1982)

2. Moss, G.R., O'Connell, P., and Moynihan, N.: A biobehavioral model for hospital psychiatry in an era of increasing regulation and cost containment. Hospital & Community Psychiatry 42 :166-170 (1991)

Behavioral Medicine: During the past quarter-century, behavioral medicine has emerged as the recognized discipline that applies principles of behavioral science to the study and treatment of medical disorders. Its goal is to improve level of function. The LifeMAX® Behavioral Medicine Program is a comprehensive program designed to deliver inpatient services utilizing a multi-disciplinary, team approach to a diagnostically mixed population of patients. Diagnoses include chronic, benign pain; persistent or recurrent medical disorders, such as emphysema, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, coronary vascular disease, etc.; and alcohol or other substance abuse secondary to medical illness. The Program is based upon functional analysis and contingency management. Patients receive training in self-monitoring techniques. LifeMAX® has documented that a comprehensive, behavioral medicine program can provide effective treatment to a diagnostically mixed, patient population.

1.Moss, G.R. and James, C.R.: Pilot study of a behavioral medicine program in a community hospital setting. Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry 17:3-9 (1986)

Chemical Dependence: The LifeMAX® Chemical Abuse & Dependence Program approaches primary abuse of alcohol and other drugs as a disorder of adaptation. The therapeutic model applied essentially is a sub-category of the The LifeMAX® Behavioral Medicine Program. It is modified to deal specifically with primary substance abuse. The Program incorporates the AA model of abstinence with the prescribing of disulfiram, as indicated and appropriate. Patients are encouraged to attend AA meetings, and heavy emphasis is placed upon follow-up treatment to maintain sobriety.

Child Psychiatry: The pertinent literature suggests that a substantial majority of children receiving a psychiatric diagnosis fall into the categories of either transient situational disturbances or behavioral disorders of childhood. Furthermore, a high percentage of children in both the psychiatric and the juvenile justice system suffer from developmental delays. For some time, there has been general agreement that biobehavioral treatment employing operant procedures can be effective.

The LifeMAX® Child Psychiatry Program incorporates advances in developmental, educational, and behavioral technologies. The Program consists of the following modules: Developmental, Behavioral, Parental Intervention, and Post-Hospital. Medication is used sparingly and only when there is a clear demonstration of disease-specificity and targeted symptoms for which there exists an effective medication. Relatively short-term hospitalization with sophisticated therapeutic interventions based upon operant procedures, special education, child development, and neuropsychiatry can achieve beneficial results, prevent regression, and provide a child with skills necessary to fulfill optimal, developmental potential.

1. Moss, GR and Levine, MJ: A developmental, educational, and behavioral approach to the hospital treatment of children. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America 3:501-511 (1980)

 

*Reprints available upon written request on letterhead.

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