Research > STEPS > Clinic Treatment Project
Clinic Treatment Project
A program of the Network on Youth Mental Health, funded by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Network Director: Dr. John R. Weisz
Project Directors: Anya Ho, PhD, Jackie Martin, PhD
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
Currently the largest study of psychological services in clinic settings,
the project involves multiple clinics in two cities, Boston, Massachusetts,
and Honolulu, Hawaii. Through training and weekly consultation with therapists
in these clinics, Child STEPs introduces evidence-based treatments for three
kinds of child mental health problems: anxiety, depression, and conduct
problems. The research will be conducted with 8-13 year old boys and girls
who exhibit any one, or any combination, of these mental health problems.
Three treatment conditions are examined in the study, with about one-third
of the therapists assigned to each condition. In the Standard Manual treatment
group, therapists are taught how to use the therapy techniques exactly as
they have been presented in formal treatment manuals that have been tested
in clinical trials. In the Modular Manual treatment group, therapists are
taught the same treatment procedures, but the procedures are organized into
stand-alone modules that can be used flexibly depending on the particular
child needs. Finally, in the Usual Standard of Care condition, therapists
implement treatment with children as they normally would in their clinical
practice.
The Boston clinic partners include The Brookline Center, The Home for Little Wanderers, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC), and South Shore Mental Health.
Project Goal
Although some treatments have been proven to be effective in a university or research setting, they have not been tested in such real-world treatment settings as community clinics. The project aims to bridge the gap between science and practice by bringing evidence-based treatments into local clinics and studying whether they improve mental health outcomes for the children treated in those clinics.
"Our goal is to find ways to make science useful to practice, by bringing the best available treatments into everyday clinical care for children and families.”
- Dr. John Weisz
Network links
The Brookline Center: http://www.brooklinecenter.com
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC): http://www.mspcc.org
The Home for Little Wanderers: http://www.thehome.org
South Shore Mental Health: http://www.ssmh.org