Moderators and mediators of client satisfaction in case management programs for clients with severe mental illness.

This randomized experiment first determined that clients with severe mental illness who received Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) were more satisfied with their treatment program than were clients in a brokered case management program (BCM). Eight demographic and diagnostic variables were examined as potential moderators of the treatment effect. Only one of the eight varables, diagnosis of depression, interacted with treatment condition to effect client satisfaction. However, there were several important mediators of client satisfaction: intensity of program contacts, continuity of program contacts, supportive services (i.e, assistance with activities of daily living), and the strength of the helping alliance as perceived by the client.