Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased stress, anxiety, and depression in children. A six-session, parent-led, transdiagnostic, cognitive-behavioral teletherapy program was adapted from an established protocol to help youth aged between 5 and 13 years manage emotional problems during the pandemic. Methods One-hundred twenty-nine parents of youth struggling with emotional problems during the COVID-19 pandemic participated in the program. Parents reported on their children's psychosocial functioning before and after treatment using validated assessments. They also reported on treatment satisfaction. Clinician-rated global improvement was assessed at each session to determine clinically significant treatment response. Results Significant improvements in parent proxy-reported anxiety ( d = .56), depression ( d = .69), stress ( d = .61), anger ( d = .69), family relationships ( d = .32), and COVID-19-related distress ( d = 1.08) were found, with 62% of participants who completed the program being classified as treatment responders. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. Limitations This study was limited by use of primarily parent-report assessments and a lack of a control group. Conclusions Brief, parent-led, transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral teletherapy appeared to be an effective way to help youth cope with the pandemic and may be a scalable framework in response to large-scale mental health crises.

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This study evaluated physicians’ utilization of a universal psychosocial screening protocol within a pediatric primary care setting. Pediatricians (n = 20) adopted a multitiered screening algorithm using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) within well-child checkups (WCC) for children, ages 7 and 11 years. Descriptive analyses were performed to evaluate the initial 3 years of physician screening protocol implementation to: (1) determine frequency and proportion of use and (2) examine patient outcomes associated with accessing behavioral health care. Physicians frequently initiated the protocol, administering the PSC-17 within 3678 WCC encounters, with frequency progressively increasing over the 3-year period. Results highlighted elements of screener utilization, cost-effectiveness, screening algorithm fidelity, and prevalence of psychosocial concerns identified. Secondary implementation challenges were observed after initial screening, specific to implementation of prescribed follow-up procedures. Primary care behavioral health collaborations appear helpful for improving universal screening utilization and cost-effectiveness, and for ensuring children with psychosocial problems are identified early and directed to follow-up care as needed.

Background: Summer camps can promote positive youth development. Unfortunately, racial, ethnic, and economic disparities contribute to inequities in camp participation and related research on marginalized youth. Consequently, it is not clear what types of camping programs work best for marginalized youth. Purpose: To conduct a quasi-experimental comparison of three summer camps described as experiential education camp (EEC), recreational camp (RC), and integrated didactic and experiential camp (IC). Methodology/Approach: Black and Latinx middle schoolers completed summer camps with the support of a community organization that also provided social-emotional learning classes during the school year. Findings/Conclusions: Dependent sample t tests and effect size comparisons on self-report collected before and after the camp showed that the EEC had small negative effects, the RC had neutral or mixed effects, and IC had positive effects. Implications: Overnight summer camp interventions can have a range of effects based on the type of activities and procedures. Outcomes may be improved by integrating didactic lessons with experiential education. Other explanations, such as positive behavioral supports and relationships with adults on the trip, could also account for differences in outcomes. Further research is needed to establish best practices for overnight camps to support the positive development of marginalized youth.