Effects of Urban Integrated Services on Young Adults' Mental Health Revealed

Clinical Case Management Bridges the Gap between Mental Health and Illness Services

A research group led by Professor Takahiro Nemoto of the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University’s Faculty of Medicine has continued the activities of the One-Stop Consultation Center SODA (hereafter SODA), an early consultation and support service for mental health specifically targeting young people, in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Science Research (MEICIS). They have clarified the characteristics of the counselors and the support effects of clinical case management, and the research paper was published in the international academic journal Early Intervention in Psychiatry on November 7, 2021. The results of this study will strongly encourage the introduction of “early consultation and support services” into the “comprehensive community care system for mental disorders” promoted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Key points of the presentation

SODA is a consultation service designed to provide early consultation and support for young people’s problems and difficulties, and to facilitate easy access for young people.
Services like SODA are useful as a “gateway” to support and treat those with mental illness but have not yet been examined by a psychiatrist, and for those with mild mental health problems.
Clinical case management over a certain duration at the Early Consultation and Support Desk is expected to solve the gap between medical and health services in the field of psychiatry, which is an issue in local communities.

Journal name: Early Intervention in Psychiatry (November 7, 2021)

Title of paper: An integrated youth mental health service in a densely populated metropolitan area in Japan: Clinical case management bridges the gap between Clinical case management bridges the gap between mental health and illness services

Author(s): Takashi Uchino, Yumi Kotsuji, Tomoji Kitano, Takuma Shiozawa, Satomi Iida, Akiko Aoki, Momoko Iwai, Masanori Shirahata, Akihiko Seki, Masafumi Mizuno, Kuniaki Tanaka, Takahiro Nemoto* (*Responsible Author)

DOI No.: 10.1111/eip.13229

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE