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The alleviating specific phobias in children trial: Challenges and solutions to implementing a randomized controlled

Lucy Tindall1,2, Alexander J Scott3,4, Katie Biggs4

  • 1Child Oriented Mental Health Intervention Centre (COMIC), Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, York, United Kingdom.

Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
|January 16, 2025
PubMed

Insights

The ASPECT trial compared Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to One Session Treatment (OST) for childhood specific phobias. Delivering child mental health research in clinical settings presents significant challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Specific phobias affect many children and young people (CYP).
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a common treatment, but its effectiveness compared to briefer interventions needs evaluation.
  • The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) commissioned research to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of multi-session CBT versus One Session Treatment (OST) for specific phobias in CYP.
  • To explore the challenges of embedding child and adolescent mental health research into routine clinical practice.

Main Methods:

  • The Alleviating Specific Phobias Experienced by Children Trial (ASPECT) recruited 274 CYP (aged 7-16) with specific phobias.
  • Recruitment occurred across 26 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) centres, voluntary sector centers, and a university wellbeing service in England.
  • Data were collected between 2016 and 2020.

Main Results:

  • The trial successfully met its recruitment target.
  • Significant challenges were encountered during the trial's delivery.
  • These challenges highlight difficulties in integrating child mental health research into clinical settings.

Conclusions:

  • Embedding research within child and adolescent mental health services is complex.
  • Lessons learned from the ASPECT trial offer insights for future research in this field.
  • Considerations for improving the delivery of clinical trials in child mental health are provided.

Keywords:
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)childrenimplementationspecific phobiasyoung people

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