A pilot study of early childhood mental health consultation for children with behavioral problems in preschool

A Pilot Study of a Primary Prevention Curriculum to Address Preschool Behavior Problems

“…The centers were all full-time, full-year programs for preschool children aged two years nine months through five years. All had access to mental health consultation services to which they could refer individual children with significant behavioral issues (see Upshur et al, 2009 for more discussion of mental health consultation models). All Centers were accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).…”

“…One approach has been to provide mental health services to individual children in preschool whose problem behavior is noted by teachers as significant. In recent years, a number of preschool mental health consultation models have been developed, with some success (Alkon, Ramler, MacLennan, 2003; Gilliam, 2007; Perry, Dunne, McFadden & Campbell, 2008; Raver et al, 2009; Upshur, Wenz-Gross, & Reed, 2009; Williford & Shelton, 2008). These models provide a combination of teacher training in classroom management practices and on-site classroom support for management of difficult behavior, often paired with interventions targeting individual children.…”

“…These models provide a combination of teacher training in classroom management practices and on-site classroom support for management of difficult behavior, often paired with interventions targeting individual children. These programs have yielded evidence of improvement in child behavior and social and emotional development (Gilliam, 2007; Perry et al, 2008; Raver et al, 2009; Upshur et al, 2009). However, most models have found mixed results regarding improvements in teacher skills or classroom climate that might help reduce or prevent some children’s poor self-regulation behaviors (Alkon et al, 2003; Gilliam, 2007; Upshur et al, 2009).…”

“…These programs have yielded evidence of improvement in child behavior and social and emotional development (Gilliam, 2007; Perry et al, 2008; Raver et al, 2009; Upshur et al, 2009). However, most models have found mixed results regarding improvements in teacher skills or classroom climate that might help reduce or prevent some children’s poor self-regulation behaviors (Alkon et al, 2003; Gilliam, 2007; Upshur et al, 2009). Finally, some investigators found that more children were identified than could be helped individually by classroom mental health consultants, which suggests a classroom-wide intervention may be beneficial (Upshur et al, 2009).…”

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Implementing a Tiered Home–School Partnership Model to Promote School Readiness

“…Early childhood consultation models are relatively new, yet several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of consultation as a means for addressing a variety of concerns in early childhood settings (Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre, & Justice, 2008;Raver et al, 2009;Upshur, Wenz-Gross, & Reed, 2009;Williford & Shelton, 2008). For example, Raver and colleagues (2009) tested a multicomponent mental health intervention model which included three types of mental health consultation: (1) coaching, (2) a oneday stress reduction workshop, and (3) child-directed services.…”