HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH EFFECTIVE/EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION TO USE?

September 2004

HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH EFFECTIVE/EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION TO USE?

System of Care communities are increasingly expected to use Effective and /or Evidence-Based interventions as part of their treatment protocols.

Effective or “Best Practices” interventions are:

Supported by expert opinion as appropriate treatment and are part of the community’s standard of care
Effective, but have not been part of a clinical trial

Evidence-based interventions (treatments) have:

A specific population that the interventions (treatments) will help
A specific intervention (treatment) that will be tested
A comparison person or group that doesn’t receive the intervention
Specific outcome(s) that differentiates the person or group that received the intervention (treatment) from the person or group that didn’t receive the intervention
The ability to be replicated

There are a variety of effective and /or evidence-based interventions for the most common diagnostic issues (i.e. Conduct Disorder, Depression, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Substance Abuse, and Learning Disability. They include but are not limited to Cognitive Behavior-Therapy, Integrated Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Traumatic Stress symptoms and Substance Abuse, Multi-Systemic Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Supportive Therapy, Systemic Family Therapy, Intensive Case Management, Community Reinforcement, Network Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Methadone, and Naltrexone.

When trying to decide the most appropriate intervention, it is important to:

focus on the reason(s) for referral;
analyze and integrate the comprehensive assessment reports;
develop a working diagnosis;
research the literature and/or ask experts in the field what effective and /or evidence-based interventions are appropriate for that diagnosis and that youth; and
have the youth, family and provider discuss the pros and cons of each intervention so they can decide together on a treatment plan.

Here is a list of books that contain information about Effective/Evidence-Based interventions:

For Parents:

The Effective Black Parenting Program, by Dr. Kerby T. Alvy
A Parents’ Guide to Attention Deficit Disorders, by Lisa J. Barn
Your Defiant Child, by Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.

For Teachers:

Skillstreaming: Teaching Prosocial Skills, by Arnold P. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Building Dreams: Elementary School Edition, by Mychal Wynn and Dee Blassie

For Clinicians:

Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth, edited by
Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, Ph.D., and Larke Nahme Huang, Ph.D.
Outcomes for Children and Youth with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders and Their Families: Programs and Evaluation Best Practices, edited by Michael Epstein, Ed.D., Krista Kutash, Ph.D., and Albert Duchnowski, Ph.D.
What Works with Children and Adolescents?: A Critical Review of Psychological Interventions with Children, Adolescents and Their Families, edited by Al Carr
Community Treatment for Youth: Evidence-Based Interventions for Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, edited by Barbara J. Burns and Kimberly Hoagwood
Psychosocial Treatments for CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT DISORDERS:Empirically Based Strategies for Clinical Practice edited by Euthymia D. Hibbs &Peter S. Jensen

For Everyone:

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1999

Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health

Mental Health and Systems of Care Frequently Asked Questions

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	September 2004 HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH EFFECTIVE/EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION TO USE? System of Care communities are increasingly expected to use Effective and /or Evidence-Based interventions as part of their treatment protocols. Effective or “Best Practices” interventions are: Supported by expert opinion as appropriate treatment and are part of the community’s standard of care Effective, but have not been part of a clinical trial Evidence-based interventions (treatments) have: A specific population that the interventions (treatments) will help A specific intervention (treatment) that will be tested A comparison person or group that doesn’t receive the intervention Specific outcome(s) that differentiates the person or group that received the intervention (treatment) from the person or group that didn’t receive the intervention The ability to be replicated There are a variety of effective and /or evidence-based interventions for the most common diagnostic issues (i.e. Conduct Disorder, Depression, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Substance Abuse, and Learning Disability. They include but are not limited to Cognitive Behavior-Therapy, Integrated Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Traumatic Stress symptoms and Substance Abuse, Multi-Systemic Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Supportive Therapy, Systemic Family Therapy, Intensive Case Management, Community Reinforcement, Network Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Methadone, and Naltrexone. When trying to decide the most appropriate intervention, it is important to: focus on the reason(s) for referral; analyze and integrate the comprehensive assessment reports; develop a working diagnosis; research the literature and/or ask experts in the field what effective and /or evidence-based interventions are appropriate for that diagnosis and that youth; and have the youth, family and provider discuss the pros and cons of each intervention so they can decide together on a treatment plan. Here is a list of books that contain information about Effective/Evidence-Based interventions: For Parents: The Effective Black Parenting Program, by Dr. Kerby T. Alvy A Parents’ Guide to Attention Deficit Disorders, by Lisa J. Barn Your Defiant Child, by Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D. For Teachers: Skillstreaming: Teaching Prosocial Skills, by Arnold P. Goldstein, Ph.D. Building Dreams: Elementary School Edition, by Mychal Wynn and Dee Blassie For Clinicians: Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth, edited by Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, Ph.D., and Larke Nahme Huang, Ph.D. Outcomes for Children and Youth with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders and Their Families: Programs and Evaluation Best Practices, edited by Michael Epstein, Ed.D., Krista Kutash, Ph.D., and Albert Duchnowski, Ph.D. What Works with Children and Adolescents?: A Critical Review of Psychological Interventions with Children, Adolescents and Their Families, edited by Al Carr Community Treatment for Youth: Evidence-Based Interventions for Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, edited by Barbara J. Burns and Kimberly Hoagwood Psychosocial Treatments for CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT DISORDERS:Empirically Based Strategies for Clinical Practice edited by Euthymia D. Hibbs &Peter S. Jensen For Everyone: Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1999