Research > STEPS
Child System and Treatment Enhancement Projects [Child STEPS]
A program of the Network on Youth Mental Health, funded by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Network Director: John R. Weisz, PhD, ABPP
Project Directors: Jane Gray, PhD, Sarah Kate
Bearman, PhD, Ana M. Ugueto, Ph.D., and Alisha Alleyne, Ph.D.
About the Network Director
John
Weisz is President and CEO of the Judge Baker Children’s Center. Previously,
he was Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral
Sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he served
for a term as Director of the Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology and
Director of the Psychology Clinic. He studied at Yale University, where
he received a PhD in clinical and developmental psychology. His written
work includes books and articles focused primarily on youth problem behavior
and disorders, cultural factors in development and dysfunction, and psychotherapy
for children and adolescents.
Project Description
In youth mental health care, the gap between science and practice is wide and long-standing. Innovative treatments that have been shown to work in clinical trials tend to be used only in additional clinical trials, not in clinical practice. This network and its projects are directed toward bridging the science-practice gap and bringing beneficial treatment practices to youths in mental health service settings. Extensive literature on the fate of technological innovations (in medicine, nutrition, machinery design, and many other fields) shows that effective dissemination requires (a) adapting the technologies to fit their intended users, and (b) understanding and addressing organizational and system barriers to change. This proposal includes both elements, designed as parallel projects. A Clinic Treatment Project tests two alternative methods of delivering evidence-based practices within public community-based mental health clinics, using training and supervision procedures designed for the settings and users. A Clinic Systems Project investigates the organizational, system, and payment issues that influence the ability of providers and clinics to use evidence-based practices.
Network Members
Bruce Chorpita (Co-PI), Ann Garland, Robert Gibbons, Charles Glisson, Evelyn Polk Green, Kimberly Hoagwood, Peter Jensen, Kelly Kelleher, John Landsverk, Steve Mayberg, Jeanne Miranda, Lawrence Palinkas, Sonja Schoenwald (Co-PI), John Weisz (Network Director)
Network links
http://www.clinicalchildpsychology.org/
