SMI Adviser to Offer Virtual Learning Collaboratives

SMI Adviser, APA’s Clinical Support System for Serious Mental Illness, will offer 10 free virtual learning collaboratives beginning in February 2022. These 12-week courses provide in-depth information on specific topics related to caring for patients with serious mental illness (SMI). Each course is guided by experts in SMI.

SMI Adviser was funded in July 2018 by a five-year, $14.2 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It offers free CME/CE-certified education, expert consultations, and resources to help frontline clinicians and staff—including physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and peer recovery specialists—provide evidence-based care to individuals who have SMI, including those living with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder.

The virtual learning collaboratives that launch in the spring include the following:

These learning collaboratives are an ideal opportunity to build skills using an intensive, real-world, evidence-based approach. Clinicians can consult with faculty experts and get real-time feedback during virtual office hours, participate in group calls with colleagues, complete skills-based assignments, and share ideas on interactive discussion boards. The time invested in these courses helps translate skills directly from concept into actionable care for individuals with SMI.

SMI Adviser offers a wealth of information in addition to its virtual learning collaboratives. It is free and accessible via website and a smartphone app. This allows clinicians to easily obtain consultation from experts, access tools that support care, and earn CME/CE credits. SMI Adviser’s online education catalog includes more than 200 webinars and interactive modules on a wide range of subjects on SMI—among them, the interface between SMI and the criminal justice system, the use of telepsychiatry for treating patients with SMI, engagement of patients and families in treatment planning, strategies for successful use of clozapine, use of psychiatric advance directives, and chronic physical health management for individuals with SMI.

Last year SMI Adviser released My Mental Health Crisis Plan, a mobile app that includes a step-by-step guide for people with SMI to create a psychiatric advance directive (PAD) and share their treatment preferences in advance of a mental health crisis. A PAD is a legal document that details an individual’s treatment preferences in the event they are unable to make decisions due to worsening illness.

SMI Adviser also operates two Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to promote best practices in psychopharmacology—the Clozapine Center of Excellence and Long-Acting Injectable Center of Excellence. Each is dedicated to providing free CME/CE-certified education, consultations, resources, and other evidence-based tools.

The CoEs host a community listserv and monthly virtual forums for moderated peer-to-peer discussions on trending topics on either clozapine or long-acting injectable medications. Clinicians can engage with colleagues and share challenges and questions on the month’s trending topic. Virtual forums are held from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET on the first Wednesday of every month. Those interested in participating may sign up to receive email invitations at the Clozapine Center of Excellence or Long-Acting Injectable Center of Excellence.

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., said that SMI Adviser breaks new ground in using technology to bring expert advice on SMI to clinicians who need it.

“I urge our members and mental health professionals to visit the SMI Adviser website and download the app and explore this remarkable resource,” he said. “It’s a huge step in realizing the vision of the SAMHSA grant to bring customized, evidence-based information to those caring for patients with SMI.” ■