Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders : empirically based strategies for clinical practice

It is estimated that between 17 and 22 per cent of children ages 6 to 8 exhibit some form of behavioural, emotional or developmental disorders. By and large, the children who receive treatment for these disorders receive interventions that do not have empirical supports with regard to efficacy. It is estimated that more than 200 treatment modalities are actually practiced with this population, and research has examined only a few of these. Clearly, treatment research for children and adolescents has lagged behind its adult counterpart. Recently, however, methodologically-sound research has been done with several promising modalities of treatment, and although preliminary, results from these studies provide a useful base of knowledge. These treatment approaches are represented in this book. The book was written for four audiences: practitioners, treatment researchers, students and health care administrators and others who make decisions about services to be provided for the nation's youth. In reporting their research, chapter authors in this book have tried to bridge this gap between researchers and practitioners, in part by describing their treatment strategies more fully than usually occurs in journal articles on treatment research, by presenting these treatments in their environmental and theoretical contexts, and by making available source information on the manuals and guidelines that should help practitioners begin to translate interventions in a different practice context. The contents describe empirically-supported treatment for the major disorders commonly seen in practice with children and adolescents: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, attention dificit disorder with hyperactivity, conduct disorder and autism. The sixth section describes treatments not specific to a particular disorder that have begun to be investigated or appear promising. In each chapter, the authors describe the nature and characteristics of the disorder, their programme of research, their research and intervention strategy and their results. Discussed in ther research strategies are such issues as target population, sampling, assessment instruments, follow-up and other salient methdological issues. Description of interventions include theory, technique, timing and order of interventions, and, depending on the particular chapter, session outlines, case examples, session dialogue, checklists, and other information of particular interest to therapists who want to integrate all or part of the treatment described into their practice. Many of the chapters contain additional source information for treatment manuals, assessment instruments and the like. Outcome data are provided, some more preliminary that others, and authors discuss the limitations, issues of generalizability and future directions of research and practice in their area.