The impact of a mental health crisis respite upon clients' symptom distress.

This study examined clients who were admitted to a mental health respite program in the first 3 months of 2011 in order to identify the ability of the program to reduce symptom distress and to explore related psychosocial factors. Participants were provided with self-report questionnaires that included measurements of demographics, mental health status, symptom severity, and program satisfaction. Results indicate a significant improvement in symptom distress (p < 0.05), mental health confidence (p < 0.1), and self-esteem (p < 0.05) from admission to discharge. No change was detected in largely external measurements.