Training school psychologists to conduct evidence‐based treatments for depression

Abstract

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective approach to the treatment of depressive disorders within schools, due to its demonstrated efficacy, as well as its availability in manualized treatment form. When implemented by therapists with inadequate training, the treatment is often stilted, less engaging for participants, and aimlessly guided through rigid adherence to the treatment manual. The transportability of such interventions to schools will be discussed, highlighting challenges that school psychologists may face, along with addressing important aspects for the successful implementation of treatments. The ACTION treatment program, a highly effective cognitive behavioral intervention for depressed youth, is provided as an example of one such program. Primary treatment components of ACTION are described along with subtleties to effectively train school psychologists who intend to treat depressed youth. The importance of improved training for school psychologists to become effective at implementing cognitive behavioral interventions is highlighted. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Child‐centered Play Therapy in the Schools: Review and Meta‐analysis

“…Considering that mental health needs among children are a growing concern, and further considering the expanding mental health services utilized in schools through professionally contracted psychologists, counselors, counseling agencies, and social workers, there appears to be an avenue and necessity for delivering counseling approaches to children to meet their needs. However, school psychologists struggle to embrace evidence‐based interventions in practice (Stark, Arora, & Funk, ). The question still remains regarding the types of counseling that are effective with young children and can be practically utilized in the school environment by school psychologists, school counselors or other mental health professionals.…”

Pebbles, rocks, and boulders: The implementation of a school-based social engagement intervention for children with autism

“…Though the definition of EBPs varies widely across fields, Cook and Odom (2013) define EBPs as “practices and programs shown by high-quality research to have meaningful effects on student outcomes” (p.136). Few autism EBPs have been successfully adopted, implemented, and sustained in school settings (Stark, Arora, & Funk, 2011; Dingfelder & Mandell, 2011; Locke et al, 2014), likely because few EBPs for children with autism have actually been developed for and tested within school settings (Stahmer, Suhrheinrich, Reed, Bolduc, & Schreibman, 2011). Conducting research in partnership with the settings in which EBPs are intended to be used (e.g., schools) increases the potential that the results will be more relevant and context specific, improve the likelihood of sustainment, and result in positive outcomes for children (Weisz, Chu, & Polo, 2004; Green, 2008; Green, Glasgow, Atkins, & Stange, 2009; Drahota et al, 2016).…”

The implementation of a team training intervention for school mental health: Lessons learned.

“…Unique implementation challenges likely exist in non-specialty behavioral health care, including expectations that personnel from various disciplines and systems (e.g., school personnel and contracted mental health providers) will know how to collaborate with one another and navigate potentially disparate missions and goals for care. Few implementation studies focus on inter-organizational and inter-professional factors (Stark et al, 2011). Specific, rigorous strategies to facilitate alignment between professionals from different disciplines and organizations have not been sufficiently explored and future research in this area is recommended.…”