The Old Solutions Are the New Problem: How Do We Better Use What We Already Know About Reducing the Burden of Mental Illness?

Kazdin and Blase (2011) propose that traditional models of delivering therapy require more resources than are available to address the scope of mental illness. We argue that finding new platforms and avenues for our existing treatments is a good start but that it is not enough. We contend that the field also needs to develop formal strategies to reorganize its increasing abundance of knowledge to address the scarcity of resources for its application. If we can better utilize our existing knowledge, treatment delivery and service resource allocation can become more efficient and effective. If the field continues with its almost singular emphasis on knowledge proliferation (e.g., developing new treatments), as opposed to knowledge management (e.g., developing new ways to design, apply, and organize existing treatments), the problem outlined by Kazdin and Blase cannot be solved.