Mental Health Research Outcomes

Psychometric Assessments

GAD-7 (measuring generalized anxiety disorder) is a 7-item anxiety measure with cut-off scores for mild, moderate and severe anxiety symptoms at 5, 10 and 15 respectively.

The PHQ-9 (measuring depression) is a 9-item measure based directly on the nine diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder in the DSM-IV that measures milk, moderate and severe depression.

FACT-Cog (symptoms of psychosis) is 37-item measure is designed to assess perceived cognitive function and impact on quality of life across 4 domains: perceived cognitive impairments, comments from others, perceived cognitive abilities and impact on quality of life.

The Structured Interview for PTSD (SIP) is a 22-item assessment that examines symptoms of PTSD corresponding to DSM-IV criteria (e.g., avoidance, amnesia, detachment, startle) along with survival and behavioral guilt.

The PROMIS survey (measuring rejection) is an 8-item survey that assesses perceptions of rejection from others (i.e., how often others are bothered by, don’t care about, or avoid them).

Our Impact on Clients with Self-reported Trauma

At the 2023 American Psychoanalytic Association (APPA) annual conference, we presented a research poster evaluating The Dorm’s model of mental health treatment for young adults with a self-reported history of trauma.

Findings:

• 61% of clients who admit to The Dorm have self-reported trauma

• The Dorm’s programmatic focus on community integration (e.g., participation in social clubs) and interpersonal as well as intrapersonal skill-building (e.g., improving self-efficacy) are significantly correlated with the reduction of trauma symptoms in our clients.

• Given the psychological complexity in treating trauma, these findings support a holistic and community-based approach to care.

View Poster

The Impact of COVID-19 on Dorm Clients

Published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research - Formative Research, our observation study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety and depression in our young adult population.

Findings:

• Anxiety levels increased by 40% with aggregate levels indicating severe anxiety

• Female-identified clients were 1.5x more likely to report a reduced quality of life compared to male-identified clients

• The Dorm findings were in line with national reports, highlighting the impact of the pandemic and the scale and scope of the youth national mental health crisis

View Study

The Efficacy of Virtual Care

As part of our commitment to research, we are conducting a multi-year virtual care study to evaluate the efficacy of virtual care.

Overall:

• 72% of Dorm clients find it easier to connect with their therapist in face-to-face sessions

• 72% shared they were better able to maintain relations with other clients in face-to-face sessions

• 51% were more comfortable sharing feelings in face-to-face sessions

This reflects the importance of The Dorm’s in-person model, while still making virtual options for parent/family sessions and continuity of care a strong complementary option.

Efficacy of The Dorm Treatment Model

At the 2020 American Psychoanalytic Association (APPA) annual conference, we presented a research poster sharing preliminary 9 month data from The Dorm’s multi-year outcomes research study evaluating the efficacy of The Dorm’s model of mental health treatment.

Findings:

• Generalized anxiety levels went from moderate to mild.

• Depression levels went from moderate/severe to mild.

• Heightened friendship scores indicate an ability to participate in social relationships which is congruent with mental health.

• Clinically-significant reductions in limitations related to ability to participate, indicative of an improved capacity to navigate social interactions

View Poster