A service evaluation of 'IDEAS' - Modular treatment for youth with complex emotional needs

There is a crucial need for an evidence-based intervention for young people presenting with moderate complex emotional needs (CEN). UK CEN care has been described as variable and poor quality, with its improvement a UK policy priority. Briefer-versions of full-programme therapy packages utilizing stepped-care models offer a clear and contained pathway for this population, though their current availability in services is scarce. This service evaluation aims to evaluate the efficacy of 'IDEAS' as a piloted brief psychological intervention for young people aged 16-25 presenting with moderate CEN.

A pre-test/post-test design was used to explore clinical outcomes for participants and services via paired sample t-tests, mixed-model ANOVAS and frequency statistics.

Exploratory pre/post-intervention analyses revealed significant reductions in mean scores for the severity of borderline personality disorder symptoms (d = .83), emotion regulation (d = 1.15) and overall wellbeing (reflecting improvement; d = .97) and increases in mean scores for quality of life (d = -.67), including level of satisfaction in one's quality of life and of therapeutic treatment received (d = -.65). These outcomes were maintained at 3-month follow-up, were little influenced by clinician training and supported readiness for discharge post-intervention for more (68.65%) participants.

The current evaluation provides preliminary evidence that IDEAS may offer a feasible, lower-cost alternative to full-programme treatment packages, with benefits for young people, services and Trusts. Given this evaluation of IDEAS being from a small, uncontrolled pilot, the findings are exploratory. Further evaluation is therefore warranted upon its larger-scale implementation.