Mental Health
“We aim to be a real learning mental health care system, answering the practical questions that patients, families, and mental health clinicians care about.”
Greg Simon, MD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Senior Investigator
Research overview
Mental health is a vital part of overall health. But traditional mental health care reaches only a fraction of the millions who could benefit. So, researchers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) are finding practical, patient-centered ways to reach people affected by conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety.
“Many of the ideas that are changing American mental health care were first tested here at Kaiser Permanente Washington,” said Gregory Simon, MD, MPH, senior investigator at KPWHRI and a Kaiser Permanente Washington psychiatrist. “We’re now working to spread those innovations to large health systems across the country.”
Some of the mental health research group’s current projects include:
- Conducting research to optimize firearm suicide prevention in health care
- Developing methods to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in suicide risk prediction
- Expanding a program to reduce the burden for caregivers of patients with a dementia diagnosis
- Testing an intervention to guide earlier access to services for youth with symptoms or concerns related to their mental health
- Reducing suicide attempts among high-risk teens and young adults
- Testing interventions for variables associated with dementia risk, such as depression and social isolation, in elderly patients
- Developing a model to predict risk of a psychosis spectrum disorder diagnosis
- Improving tailoring of depression care using customized clinical decision support
- Studying how peer support is being used to support youth mental health
Innovative patient-centered mental health programs developed at KPWHRI include:
- Using collaborative care to integrate depression mental health care with general medical care
- Developing flexible, patient-centered psychotherapy programs organized around people’s preferences and values and delivered online or by phone
- Identifying and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health treatment
- Tailoring depression programs for people with other health conditions (diabetes, heart disease, obesity)
- Using technology such as the web and secure email for outreach and care coordination
- Facilitating earlier identification of people at risk for self-harm or suicide attempts
- Improving physical health in people with severe mental health problems
- Combining peer support with professional treatment for mood disorders
- Broadening the focus of mental health treatment from symptom management to recovery
- Activating mental health patients to be more knowledgeable and assertive
- Reducing use of high-risk medications in both children and older adults
- Collaborating with health systems through the national Mental Health Research Network to systematically measure and improve outcomes of care
“We are partnering with health care leaders at Kaiser Permanente Washington and other health systems to test innovative programs and implement treatments that work,” Simon said. “We want ‘learning health care system’ to be more than a slogan.”
Recent publications on Mental Health
Whiteside U, Lungu A, Richards J, Simon GE, Clingan S, Siler J, Snyder L, Ludman E. Figure correction: designing messaging to engage patients in an online suicide prevention intervention: survey results from patients with current suicidal ideation. J Med Internet Res. 2015 Apr 13;17(4):e69. doi: 10.2196/jmir.4412. PubMed
Katon W, Russo J, Reed SD, Croicu CA, Ludman E, LaRocco A, Melville JL. A randomized trial of collaborative depression care in obstetrics and gynecology clinics: socioeconomic disadvantage and treatment response. Am J Psychiatry. 2015 Jan;172(1):32-40. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.14020258. Epub 2014 Oct 31. Erratum in: Am J Psychiatry. 2015 Jan;172(1):100. PubMed
Wang L, Naj AC, Graham RR, Crane PK, Kunkle BW, Cruchaga C, Murcia JD, Cannon-Albright L, Baldwin CT, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Kukull WA, Faber KM, Schupf N, Norton MC, Tschanz JT, Munger RG, Corcoran CD, Rogaeva E, Lin C, Dombroski BA, Cantwell LB, Partch A, Valladares O, Hakonarson H, St George-Hyslop P, Green RC, Goate AM, Foroud TM, Carney RM, Larson EB, Behrens TW, Kauwe JS, Haines JL, Farrer LA, Pericak-Vance MA, Mayeux R, Schellenberg GD; for the National Institute on Aging–Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (NIA-LOAD) Family Study; Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium, Albert MS, Albin RL, Apostolova LG, Arnold SE, Barber R, Barmada MM, Barnes LL, Beach TG, Becker JT, Beecham GW, Beekly D, Bennett DA, Bigio EH, Bird TD, Blacker D, Boeve BF, Bowen JD, Boxer A, Burke JR, Buxbaum JD, Cairns NJ, Cao C, Carlson CS, Carroll SL, Chui HC, Clark DG, Cribbs DH, Crocco EA, DeCarli C, DeKosky ST, Demirci FY, Dick M, Dickson DW, Duara R, Ertekin-Taner N, Fallon KB, Farlow MR, Ferris S, Frosch MP, Galasko DR, Ganguli M, Gearing M, Geschwind DH, Ghetti B, Gilbert JR, Glass JD, Graff-Radford NR, Growdon JH, Hamilton RL, Hamilton-Nelson KL, Harrell LE, Head E, Honig LS, Hulette CM, Hyman BT, Jarvik GP, Jicha GA, Jin L, Jun G, Kamboh MI, Karydas A, Kaye JA, Kim R, Koo EH, Kowall NW, Kramer JH, Kramer P, LaFerla FM, Lah JJ, Leverenz JB, Levey AI, Li G, Lieberman AP, Lopez OL, Lunetta KL, Lyketsos CG, Mack WJ, Marson DC, Martin ER, Martiniuk F, Mash DC, Masliah E, McCormick WC, McCurry SM, McDavid AN, McKee AC, Mesulam MM, Miller BL, Miller CA, Miller JW, Montine TJ, Morris JC, Murrell JR, Olichney JM, Parisi JE, Perry W, Peskind E, Petersen RC, Pierce A, Poon WW, Potter H, Quinn JF, Raj A, Raskind M, Reiman EM, Reisberg B, Reitz C, Ringman JM, Roberson ED, Rosen HJ, Rosenberg RN, Sano M, Saykin AJ, Schneider JA, Schneider LS, Seeley WW, Smith AG, Sonnen JA, Spina S, Stern RA, Tanzi RE, Thornton-Wells TA, Trojanowski JQ, Troncoso JC, Tsuang DW, Van Deerlin VM, Van Eldik LJ, Vardarajan BN, Vinters HV, Vonsattel JP, Weintraub S, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Williamson J, Wishnek S, Woltjer RL, Wright CB, Younkin SG, Yu C, Yu L. Rarity of the Alzheimer disease-protective APP A673T variant in the United States. JAMA Neurol. 2015 Feb;72(2):209-16. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.2157. Epub 2014 Dec 22. PubMed
Miller CJ, Li M, Penfold RB, Lee AF, Smith EG, Osser DN, Bajor L, Bauer MS. Patterns of initiation of second generation antipsychotics for bipolar disorder: a month-by-month analysis of provider behavior. BMC Psychiatry. 2014 Nov 30;14:339. doi: 10.1186/s12888-014-0339-z. PubMed
Debette S, Ibrahim Verbaas CA, Bressler J, Schuur M, Smith A, Bis JC, Davies G, Wolf C, Gudnason V, Chibnik LB, Yang Q, deStefano AL, de Quervain DJ, Srikanth V, Lahti J, Grabe HJ, Smith JA, Priebe L, Yu L, Karbalai N, Hayward C, Wilson JF, Campbell H, Petrovic K, Fornage M, Chauhan G, Yeo R, Boxall R, Becker J, Stegle O, Mather KA, Chouraki V, Sun Q, Rose LM, Resnick S, Oldmeadow C, Kirin M, Wright AF, Jonsdottir MK, Au R, Becker A, Amin N, Nalls MA, Turner ST, Kardia SL, Oostra B, Windham G, Coker LH, Zhao W, Knopman DS, Heiss G, Griswold ME, Gottesman RF, Vitart V, Hastie ND, Zgaga L, Rudan I, Polasek O, Holliday EG, Schofield P, Choi SH, Tanaka T, An Y, Perry RT, Kennedy RE, Sale MM, Wang J, Wadley VG, Liewald DC, Ridker PM, Gow AJ, Pattie A, Starr JM, Porteous D, Liu X, Thomson R, Armstrong NJ, Eiriksdottir G, Assareh AA, Kochan NA, Widen E, Palotie A, Hsieh YC, Eriksson JG, Vogler C, van Swieten JC, Shulman JM, Beiser A, Rotter J, Schmidt CO, Hoffmann W, Nöthen MM, Ferrucci L, Attia J, Uitterlinden AG, Amouyel P, Dartigues JF, Amieva H, Räikkönen K, Garcia M, Wolf PA, Hofman A, Longstreth WT Jr, Psaty BM, Boerwinkle E, DeJager PL, Sachdev PS, Schmidt R, Breteler MM, Teumer A, Lopez OL, Cichon S, Chasman DI, Grodstein F, Müller-Myhsok B, Tzourio C, Papassotiropoulos A, Bennett DA, Ikram AM, Deary IJ, van Duijn CM, Launer L, Fitzpatrick AL, Seshadri S, Mosley TH Jr; Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Genome-wide studies of verbal declarative memory in nondemented older people: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Biol Psychiatry. 2015 Apr 15;77(8):749-63. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.08.027. Epub 2014 Nov 25. PubMed
Researchers in Mental Health
 Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Ben Balderson, PhDSenior Collaborative Scientist |
 Katharine A. Bradley, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator; Director, ACT Center |
 Jennifer B. McClure, PhDDirector, Investigative Science |
 Robert Penfold, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Susan M. Shortreed, PhDSenior Biostatistics Investigator |
 Dori E. Rosenberg, PhD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Gwen Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSWAssistant Investigator |
 Jennifer F. Bobb, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
 Joseph E. Glass, PhD, MSWAssociate Investigator |
 Julie E. Richards, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Paige D. Wartko, PhD, MPHSenior Collaborative Scientist |
 Yates Coley, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
 Abisola Idu, MS, MPHCollaborative Biostatistician |
 Eric Johnson, MSSenior Collaborative Biostatistician |
 Rod L. Walker, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
 Robert D. Wellman, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
 Leah K. Hamilton, PhDSenior Collaborative Scientist |
 Brian D. Williamson, PhDAssistant Biostatistics Investigator |
 Rosemary Meza, PhD, MSCollaborative Scientist |
 Morgan Justice, MACollaborative Scientist |
 Theresa E. Matson, PhD, MPHCollaborative Scientist |
 Lily N. Shapiro, PhDCollaborative Scientist |
Affiliate researchers in mental health
Paul Crane, MD, MPH
Professor, Internal Medicine
University of Washington
Patrick Heagerty, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics
University of Washington
Laura P. Richardson, MD, MPH
Adolescent Medicine
Seattle Children's Hospital
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington
Noah R. Simon, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biostatistics
University of Washington
Principal Investigator, Therapeutics Development
Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Emily Williams, PhD, MPH
Investigator
Health Services Research & Development
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Research
Suicide attempts decreased after adding suicide care to primary care
Safety planning and risk screening improved outcomes for adult patients.
Research
A better approach to prevent teen suicide deaths
New grant funds crucial work to test effectiveness of teen suicide prevention in primary care.
Research
Can machine learning help treat depression more effectively?
A new grant funds modeling work to make personalized treatment possible.
Research
Understanding adoption of Lock to Live, a decision aid supporting suicide prevention
KPWHRI research finds ways to increase use of a firearm safety tool.
Research
A medication that can relieve symptoms of psychosis is underused
Study finds that many patients who might benefit from clozapine don’t receive it.
Research
Improving and advancing mental health care
KPWHRI researchers are contributing to better mental health care for people nationwide.
Research
Asking about firearm access can normalize and support dialogue for patients
Findings provide roadmap for addressing barriers and improving suicide prevention.
News
Richards and Nelson earn research awards
Honors from the Health Care Systems Research Network for early career achievements and manuscript of the year
Suicide prevention
‘Do you have access to guns?’ Answers before suicide death
A new study shows an opportunity to better identify patients at risk.
IMPACT Center
Improving mental health care for youth
A new center will support using evidence-based practices in under-resourced settings such as schools.
Research
Addressing the crisis of youth suicide in America
Rob Penfold, PhD, writes about suicide trends in children and adolescents and what researchers are doing about them.
Video
Tools and support for people thinking about suicide
Now Matters Now helps people cope with suicidal thoughts by sharing the strategies of people who have been there.
Suicide prevention
Most mental health patients answer firearm question
Study shows patients will usually answer a question about firearm access, providing key information for suicide prevention.
Virtual screening
Detecting, assessing suicidal ideation during COVID-19
How new processes improved suicide risk identification when mental health visits went virtual.
KPWHRI In the Media
Understanding rise in youth emergency visits for mental health
Rise in suicide-related ED visits among youth raises larger questions around mental health care
STAT News, May 2, 2023
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