The Center has three main divisions: Research, Services, and Training Technical Assistance and Dissemination. These divisions operate in their respective specialties to in-turn support a holisitc approach to Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
This cycle includes: identifying and developing needed innovations for the field, testing innovations in programs and services, conducting research and evaluation studies to determine if the innovations effective and finally, dissemination and diffusing the innovation. For example, an idea for a new approach to services, or a new intervention or method of service delivery can be stimulated through the experiences of staff in our Training, Dissemination and Technical Assistance Division as they work in the field. This idea for a new innovation can be piloted in our Services Division, evaluated by our Research Division, and then sent back to the mental health and rehabilitation fields through the efforts of the Training, Dissemination and Technical Assistance Division.
Values that define the Center
We believe that individuals living with serious psychiatric disabilities or mental illness:
- Have the same aspirations as any other person in society.
- Can work toward recovery in their own time and achieve a meaningful way of living. Whether this means being satisfying work; living in a desirable setting of your own choice; socializing with those important to you; and/or getting the education you want and need to achieve your goals.
Recovery-oriented practices focus on “person orientation” that values people’s talents, strengths, aspirations, and the full-human experience; that which focuses on choice and self-determination; and promotes hope or a belief in the inherent possibility of growth.