Psychology and the enhancement of medication adherence

This paper reports on a new approach to the enhancement of medication adherence - Medication Alliance. Medication Alliance was developed and piloted by a project team that includes Mitch Byrne as project leader, Frank Deane as research supervisor, and two consultants, Tim Coombs and Gordon Lambert. Because Medication Alliance borrows heavily from psychological principles such as functional analysis and cognitive therapy, this presentation is entitled 'Psychology and the Enhancement of Medication Adherence '. However, Medication Alliance is a non-discipline specific therapy approach that fits well within the purview of any clinician delivering psychosocial interventions. The theoretical underpinnings of the various Health Beliefs models and the importance of the Therapeutic Alliance in treatment outcomes shapes Medication Alliance as a contemporary intervention for an enduring problem in the effective delivery of mental health services.