scholarly journals Evidence-based treatment strategies in youth mental health treatment as usual : results from a national survey

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Evelyn Cho
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Theoretical Orientation ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Provider Attitudes ◽  
Treatment As Usual

Despite widespread calls for the integration of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) into treatment as usual (TAU) for youth mental health problems, the success of such efforts is unclear. Existing survey research suggests that providers use specific EBT manuals infrequently, but whether providers use treatment strategies contained within EBT manuals without adopting the manuals themselves remains unclear. Further, given that use of EBTs as intended (e.g., focusing on prescribed strategies and avoiding nonprescribed strategies) may enhance treatment outcomes, it is important to understand how EBT strategies are typically implemented within TAU. Whether providers rarely use EBT strategies, integrate EBT strategies alongside other strategies regardless of empirical support, or selectively favor EBT strategies over those without strong evidentiary support, remains uncertain. Additionally, research is needed to move beyond assessing use of EBT strategies and to understand the conditions under which providers use EBT strategies in TAU. To address these gaps in the literature, we conducted a large national survey of youth-serving counselors', marriage and family therapists', psychologists', psychiatrists', and social workers' use of a variety of treatment strategies. Results suggest that providers use both EBT and other treatment strategies frequently in TAU but use EBT strategies more frequently than other treatment strategies. A multi-groups analysis also showed that organizational value of quality care, organizational training resources, positive provider attitudes toward innovation and evidence, more standardized measure and ongoing assessment use, fewer low income clients, less time since highest degree, and behavioral theoretical orientation predict provider use of EBT strategies.

scholarly journals Coordination of sustainable financing for evidence-based youth mental health treatments: protocol for development and evaluation of the fiscal mapping process

2022 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex R. Dopp ◽  
Marylou Gilbert ◽  
Jane Silovsky ◽  
Jeanne S. Ringel ◽  
Susan Schmidt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Intervention Mapping ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Mapping Process ◽  
Service Agencies

Abstract Background Sustained delivery of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) is essential to addressing the public health and economic impacts of youth mental health problems, but is complicated by the limited and fragmented funding available to youth mental health service agencies (hereafter, “service agencies”). Strategic planning tools are needed that can guide these service agencies in their coordination of sustainable funding for EBTs. This protocol describes a mixed-methods research project designed to (1) develop and (2) evaluate our novel fiscal mapping process that guides strategic planning efforts to finance the sustainment of EBTs in youth mental health services. Method Participants will be 48 expert stakeholder participants, including representatives from ten service agencies and their partners from funding agencies (various public and private sources) and intermediary organizations (which provide guidance and support on the delivery of specific EBTs). Aim 1 is to develop the fiscal mapping process: a multi-step, structured tool that guides service agencies in selecting the optimal combination of strategies for financing their EBT sustainment efforts. We will adapt the fiscal mapping process from an established intervention mapping process and will incorporate an existing compilation of 23 financing strategies. We will then engage participants in a modified Delphi exercise to achieve consensus on the fiscal mapping process steps and gather information that can inform the selection of strategies. Aim 2 is to evaluate preliminary impacts of the fiscal mapping process on service agencies’ EBT sustainment capacities (i.e., structures and processes that support sustainment) and outcomes (e.g., intentions to sustain). The ten agencies will pilot test the fiscal mapping process. We will evaluate how the fiscal mapping process impacts EBT sustainment capacities and outcomes using a comparative case study approach, incorporating data from focus groups and document review. After pilot testing, the stakeholder participants will conceptualize the process and outcomes of fiscal mapping in a participatory modeling exercise to help inform future use and evaluation of the tool. Discussion This project will generate the fiscal mapping process, which will facilitate the coordination of an array of financing strategies to sustain EBTs in community youth mental health services. This tool will promote the sustainment of youth-focused EBTs.

Psychotherapeutic components of commercially available virtual reality games (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almira Osmanovic Thunström ◽  
Iris Sarajlic Vuković ◽  
Lilas Ali ◽  
Tomas Larson ◽  
Steinn Steingrimsson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Treatment Method ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Unique Games

BACKGROUND Immersive virtual reality (VR) games are increasingly becoming part of everyday life. Several studies support immersive VR technology as a treatment method for mental health problems. There is however minimal research into the feasibility, prevalence, and quality of commercially available VR games on commercial platforms as tools for treatment or add on to treatment of mental health problems. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence, feasibility and quality of commercially available games related to psychotherapy on a commercially available platform. METHODS We performed a search for keywords related to diagnosis and treatment strategies of mental health problems. The search was performed during March 27th on STEAM (VR content and gaming platform). A usability scale was used as a tool to look at the interaction and usability of the games, the VR-UI-UX-8. The tool contains 8 statements about usability scored 0-10, 0 indicating “Not at all” and 10 indicating “very much so”. The score ranges from 0-80 with a higher score indicating worse usability. RESULTS In total, 516 hits were found, 371 unique games. After the games were reviewed, 83 games passed the inclusion criteria, were purchased and played. Majority of the games which were excluded were either not connected to mental health, contained violence, adult content or were in other ways irrelevant or inappropriate. The mean score for the games on the VR-UI-UX-8 was 16.5 (standard deviation 15.8) with a range from 0-68. Most relevant and feasible games were found in the search words meditation, mindfulness, and LSD. CONCLUSIONS Commercial platforms hold great potential for VR games with psychotherapeutic components. The platforms are only at the beginning of the development towards serious games, e-learning and psychotherapeutic treatments. Currently the quality and usability for clinical and at home applicability are scarce, but hold great potential.

Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health among Children and Youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 228-243
Author(s):  
Jessica N. Fish ◽  
Laura Baams ◽  
Jenifer K. McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
The World ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
And Gender

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) young people are coming of age at a time of dynamic social and political changes with regard to LGBTQ rights and visibility around the world. And yet, contemporary cohorts of SGM youth continue to evidence the same degree of compromised mental health demonstrated by SGM youth of past decades. The authors review the current research on SGM youth mental health, with careful attention to the developmental and contextual characteristics that complicate, support, and thwart mental health for SGM young people. Given a large and rapidly growing body of science in this area, the authors strategically review research that reflects the prevalence of these issues in countries around the world but also concentrate on how mental health concerns among SGM children and youth are shaped by experiences with schools, families, and communities. Promising mental health treatment strategies for this population are reviewed. The chapter ends with a focus on understudied areas in the SGM youth mental health literature, which may offer promising solutions to combat SGM population health disparities and promote mental health among SGM young people during adolescence and as they age across the life course.

scholarly journals Increasing demand for school counselling through a lay counsellor-delivered classroom sensitisation intervention: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in New Delhi, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e003902
Author(s):  
Rachana Parikh ◽  
Adriaan Hoogendoorn ◽  
Daniel Michelson ◽  
Jeroen Ruwaard ◽  
Rhea Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Stepped Wedge ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionWe evaluated a classroom-based sensitisation intervention that was designed to reduce demand-side barriers affecting referrals to a school counselling programme. The sensitisation intervention was offered in the context of a host trial evaluating a low-intensity problem-solving treatment for common adolescent mental health problems.MethodsWe conducted a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial with 70 classes in 6 secondary schools serving low-income communities in New Delhi, India.The classes were randomised to receive a classroom sensitisation session involving a brief video presentation and moderated group discussion, delivered by a lay counsellor over one class period (intervention condition, IC), in two steps of 4 weeks each. The control condition (CC) was whole-school sensitisation (teacher-meetings and whole-school activities such as poster displays). The primary outcome was the proportion of students referred into the host trial. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of students who met mental health caseness criteria and the proportion of self-referred adolescents.ResultsBetween 20 August 2018 and 9 December 2018, 835 students (23.3% of all students) were referred into the host trial. The referred sample included 591 boys (70.8%), and had a mean age of 15.8 years, SD=0.06; 194 students (31.8% of 610 with complete data) met mental health caseness criteria. The proportion of students referred in each trial conditionwas significantly higher in the IC (IC=21.7%, CC=1.5%, OR=111.36, 95% CI 35.56 to 348.77, p<0.001). The proportion of self-referred participants was also higher in the IC (IC=98.1%, CC=89.1%, Pearson χ2 (1)=16.92, p<0.001). Although the proportion of referred students meeting caseness criteria was similar in both conditions (IC=32.0% vs CC=28.1%), the proportion weighted for the total student population was substantially higher in the IC (IC=5.2%, CC=0.3%, OR=52.39, 95% CI 12.49 to 219.66,p<0.001).ConclusionA single, lay counsellor-delivered, classroom sensitisation session increased psychological help-seeking for common mental health problems among secondary school pupils from urban, low-income communities in India.Trial registration numberNCT03633916.

Youth mental health competencies in regional general practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 103985622097005
Author(s):  
Oliver Smith ◽  
Jessica Bergmann ◽  
Ulrich Schall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Problem ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Hunter Region

Objective: General practitioners (GPs) are key health professionals for referrals to mental health specialists. Youth mental health issues are particularly challenging, requiring a competent assessment and understanding of appropriate referral pathways. We surveyed local GPs about their understanding of youth mental health problems and needs to competently look after young patients. Methods: GPs working in the Hunter region were contacted via email, fax and post over a 6-month period in 2019. Results: Seventy-five GPs participated. They reported 577 of 1698 (34%) of young people seen 2 weeks prior to being surveyed presented with a mental health problem. Predominantly, referrals were to private practice psychologists and Headspace. Almost a third (31%) reported having limited understanding of ‘at-risk mental state’ and are ‘not always comfortable’ when facing a young person with a mental health problem. Nearly all (95%) expressed interest in attending specialised training. GPs identified treatment costs, scarce access to psychiatrists and limited patient engagement as the main obstacles to help young people. Conclusions: Effective treatment of a mental health problem relies on early identification. GPs are seeing young people on a regular basis but don’t feel well equipped for this task and are keen to up-skill, which needs to be addressed by targeted training.

scholarly journals Trauma, Sleep and Mental Health Problems in Low-Income Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1145
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Fusco ◽  
Yan Yuan ◽  
Hyunji Lee ◽  
Christina E. Newhill
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
The Relationship

Low-income young adults are more likely to have exposure to trauma, which increases risk for mental health problems. Although adequate sleep promotes good health, people with histories of trauma are more likely to have sleep problems. The current study explored whether poor sleep mediated the relationship between trauma exposure and mental health. A sample of 143 low-income 18–24-year-old young adults completed depression, anxiety, and trauma exposure measures and wore sleep monitors for four nights. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine both direct and indirect effects of variables. Results showed that higher trauma exposure was associated with depression and anxiety. Mean sleep hours per night was fewer than six, far below recommended guidelines for optimal health and functioning. Fewer sleep hours partially mediated the relationship between both trauma exposure and depression and anxiety, and the direct effect from trauma remained significant after adjusting for the partial mediation from sleep.

“Broken windows”: Relationship between neighborhood conditions and behavioral health among low-income African American adolescents

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dexter R Voisin ◽  
Dong Ha Kim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
African American ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
Broken Windows ◽  
Neighborhood Conditions

This study explored the association between neighborhood conditions and behavioral health among African American youth. Cross-sectional data were collected from 683 African American youth from low-income communities. Measures for demographics, neighborhood conditions (i.e. broken windows index), mental health, delinquency, substance use, and sexual risk behaviors were assessed. Major findings indicated that participants who reported poorer neighborhood conditions compared to those who lived in better living conditions were more likely to report higher rates of mental health problems, delinquency, substance use, and unsafe sexual behaviors. Environmental factors need to be considered when addressing the behavioral health of low-income African American youth.

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