Understanding Psychiatric Treatment Response

Split picture of head with storm clouds on left and head with sunshine on right.

How does our method for diagnosing mental illness relate to treatment outcomes? 

Project description

This project will evaluate the utility of different methods of conceptualizing mental illness (e.g., diagnostic categories, dimensional approaches) in predicting treatment response among adults receiving psychiatric services in an outpatient setting. Specifically, we seek to address the following questions: 1) How effective are treatments guided by diagnostic categories in improving patient functioning? 2) Does the presence of subthreshold or extra-diagnostic symptoms increase the likelihood of treatment nonresponse? 3) Can dimensional approaches to psychopathology and/or social determinants of health enhance the prediction of treatment response? The overall goal of our research is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of mental health treatment and services. Undergraduates will assist with: evaluating, managing, and improving the outcomes monitoring feedback system to help inform providers of their patients progress; conduct chart reviews and data entry; developing a transdiagnostic outcomes measure to be used in psychiatric and psychotherapy outcomes monitoring. 

Project outcome

Students will have the opportunity to engage in clinical research with a multidisciplinary team of mental health providers. As members of the team, they will learn and apply data management, analysis, and interpretation skills. They will also have opportunities to present their work at academic conferences and engage in manuscript preparation. Finally, students will have the opportunity to engage in didactic and clinical observation experiences offered within the Department of Psychiatry. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment About a semester; 3-5 months
Start time Fall (August/September) 
In-person, remote, or hybrid? In-Person Project (can only function with in-person engagement) 
Level of collaboration Small group project (2-3 students) 
Benefits Stipend 
Who is eligible Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors who are detail-oriented, have strong communication skills, and motivated to learn about clinical psychology, psychiatry, medicine, or related mental health disciplines. The positions are located at Erie County Medical Center, so students will need to provide their own transportation. Basic knowledge of statistical software (Excel/SPSS) and survey platforms (Qualtrics, REDCap) is desirable but not necessary. Students must not graduate before December 2024. 

Core partners

  • Daniel Antonius, Ph.D.
  • Corey Leidenfrost, Ph.D.

Project mentor

Sara Lowmaster

Assistant Professor

Psychiatry

Phone: (716) 898-4540

Email: saralowm@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 
Start the Digital Badge

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

Complete CITI Human Subjects Training for Social/Behavioral/Education Research: https://www.buffalo.edu/research/research-services/training/compliance-training.html

Keywords

psychology, mental health, psychiatry, treatment