State-wide implementation and clinical outcomes associated with evidence-based psychotherapies for traumatized youth

Highly efficacious evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) exist for children and youth exposed to trauma, yet very few who need the treatments in the community receive them. Research within real-world settings is needed to better understand what is required to translate treatments into the community.

We aimed to examine the implementation and clinical outcomes of a multiyear project installing 2 EBPs for trauma-exposed youth in community agencies across the state of New Hampshire.

We invited clinicians to 2 days of training plus weekly group consultation calls for 9 or 12 months in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Child Parent Psychotherapy. Implementation metrics included clinician adherence to training, consultation, and treatment delivery expectations. Clinical outcomes included treatment dropout, as well as posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms.

Of the 292 clinicians meeting eligibility and agreeing to participate, 243 (83%) attended trainings, 168 (58%) began consultation calls, and 70 (24%) adhered to implementation expectations by attending 80% of consultation calls and beginning the treatment with 2 youths. According to (completing) clinicians' reports, of the 363 youths tracked over the 9 to 12 month consultation periods, 47% dropped out of treatment and 44% were ongoing. Pre-post PTS scores (n = 82) demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions for 59% of youth.

Clinical outcomes were robust for those who completed treatment, rivaling those of highly controlled trials. However, implementation outcomes indicate an uphill battle in reaching youth who need the treatment. Implementation outcomes were mixed compared with those of more resource-intensive implementation models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).