Child STEPS for Youth Mental Health in Maine Sustainability

Harvard University153 enrolled

Overview

The overarching goal of this project is to study the sustainability of MATCH-ADTC within community mental health clinics, to learn what is needed for evidence-based practices (EBPs) to take root and thrive within a public system.

In this project, the investigators are randomizing children to Wave 1 (previously MATCH trained) or Wave 2 (newly MATCH trained) and using a clinical monitoring system (TRAC) to measure youth outcomes over time. Participating therapists receive weekly MATCH consultation provided by the Judge Baker Children's Center/Harvard University research team or by Maine clinic supervisors who are MATCH Associate Consultants. The investigators are also developing and testing new low-cost measures of MATCH treatment and consultation fidelity to explore the feasibility of more sustainable measures of MATCH adherence. Study data will be used to answer questions about the sustainability of MATCH in the public sector.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

153

Conditions

Anxiety Depression Trauma Behavior Problems

Interventions

MATCH-ADTCBEHAVIORAL

MATCH - ADTC (Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems; Chorpita \& Weisz, 2009) is a psychosocial intervention designed to treat children with multiple disorders and problems encompassing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and disruptive conduct, including the conduct problems associated with ADHD. It is recommended for children aged 6-15. MATCH is composed of 33 modules-i.e., specific treatment procedures derived from decades of research on EBTs. The various modules can be organized and sequenced flexibly to tailor treatment to each child's characteristics and needs.

TRACOTHER

TRAC (Treatment Response Assessment for Children) is a web-based system that provides weekly monitoring of the MATCH modules used and the child's response to treatment. Child's response to treatment is based on caregiver and child reports of (a) changes in problem severity on the standardized Brief Problem Checklist, and (b) changes in severity of the top treatment concerns identified by youths and caregivers. At the end of treatment, TRAC provides a complete record of modules used, and child treatment response, across all the weeks of treatment, as illustrated in the "client dashboard."

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 6 YearsMax age: 15 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 6 - 15 year old child and their caregivers * seeking services at community mental health clinics * primary problem or disorder related to anxiety, traumatic stress, depression, or conduct problems, or any combination of the four problems Exclusion Criteria: * child is younger than 6 years or older than 15 years on the day of the phone screen. * child has attempted suicide within the past year. * Schizophrenic spectrum disorder (including MDD with psychotic features) * Autism or another Pervasive Developmental Disorder (E.g., PDD NOS, Asperger's Disorder, Child Disintegration Disorder, Rett's Disorder) * Anorexia Nervosa * Bulimia Nervosa * Mental Retardation * no relevant T-scores validate target disorders * ADHD identified as primary reason for seeking treatment at phone screen * child's medication has not been regulated for one month or longer

Locations (1)

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Brief Problem Checklist (BPC)

Time frame: Change over time from Day 1 to Day 242 (end of treatment)