Practice Corner Post by Taylor N. Stephens, Palo Alto University
Article Title: Disseminating Evidence-Based Practices for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Web-Based Initiative.
Article Authors: Aparajita B. Kuriyan, Amy R. Altszuler, Jonathan S. Comer, & William E. Pelham Jr.
Why is this article relevant to practice? Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are becoming increasingly emphasized in today’s practice, making accurate, direct, and immediate dissemination of EBP research and literature is crucial. Technology has become increasingly popular as well in psychology, particularly given the benefits, such as increased breadth of dissemination, accessibility, attractiveness, increasing engagement, cost-effectiveness, and a reduction of barriers. This article describes the SCCAP’s efforts to increase dissemination of EBPs for youth via a web-based initiative (INDICES). The authors outline practical recommendations for youth-serving professionals to capitalize on the benefits of INDICES in their work with youth and families.
What are the key takeaways from the article?
- With the increased demand (on both the policy/clinician side and consumer/patient side) for EBPs, combined with the increased rapid expansion of research, staying “up-to-date” with the most recent EBPs is difficult.
- Technology can help combat the difficulties staying “up-to-date” and current with the state of EBPs, while also increasing the dissemination of such information (not only increasing the reach among the professional world, but among the client/caregiver population as well).
- National organizations, like SCCAP, have started initiatives to examined evidence-based practices (EBPs) and the dissemination of such practices.
- SCCAP partnered with the Center for Children and Families at Florida International University (2011) and created a website (INDICES) designed to educate parents and professionals on child and adolescent mental health and EBPs
- The resulting non-profit website provides “one of the largest caches of educational videos” providing information regarding evidence for mental health treatment, workshops on treatment techniques, and brief informational videos made for parents.
- INDICES (indices4kids.com) is unique in a variety of ways including:
- The multidisciplinary approach to how the information is presented (e.g. videos recorded by different types of youth-serving professionals)
- EBPs described are multisetting, multimodal and multiformat (e.g. school-based vs. office based therapies; group vs. individual vs. family, etc.)
- Free video content and low-cost resources
- Included treatments have a peer-reviewed evidence basis
- Not exclusive to a specific theoretical orientation
- INDICES: http://effectivechildtherapy.fiu.edu/ (formerly indices4kids.com)
- Parent Resources: http://effectivechildtherapy.fiu.edu/parents
- Professionals Resources: http://effectivechildtherapy.fiu.edu/professionals
- Keynote Videos & Handouts: http://effectivechildtherapy.fiu.edu/professionals/keynotes
- Online Workshops: http://effectivechildtherapy.fiu.edu/professionals/workshops
- Importance of Evidence-Based Approaches: http://effectivechildtherapy.org/
Link to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23794925.2017.1286958
Full Article Reference: Kuriyan, A.B., Altszuler, A.R., Comer, J.S., & Pelham Jr., W.E. (2017). Disseminating evidence-based practices for child and adolescent mental health: A web-based initiative. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2(1), 54-67. doi: 10.1080/23794925.2017.1286958