Empirically tested psychotherapies for youth internalizing and externalizing problems and disorders

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Youth mental health referrals are high for anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder.
• Existing reviews often lack specific details on effective interventions.
• A comprehensive understanding of empirically supported treatments is crucial for clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and detail specific psychotherapies with demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials for common youth mental health issues.
• To complement existing narrative reviews and meta-analyses by focusing on concrete intervention strategies.
• To provide a resource for clinicians seeking evidence-based treatment options.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of clinical trials published over four decades.
• Identification of treatments showing statistically significant effects for targeted disorders.
• Focus on interventions for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and conduct disorder in youth.

Main Results:

• Specific psychotherapeutic interventions have shown significant positive effects across multiple studies.
• Detailed descriptions of these effective treatments are provided.
• The review synthesizes findings from a large body of research.

Conclusions:

• Evidence-based psychotherapies exist for major youth mental health disorders.
• Clinicians can utilize this detailed information to select effective treatments.
• Further research can build upon these identified effective interventions.