When parents look for mental health treatment for a child or adolescent, it is common to search for a psychotherapy provider who may have availability in their schedule, desired fees, or is covered by a specific insurance plan. However, it is also essential that parents or guardians in search of treatment get specific information about the type of treatment that a mental health care provider will offer for their child.
Not all mental health treatments for young people are equally efficacious, and parents must be educated when searching for a therapist. Some therapies may work better than others.
Mental health care providers (i.e., psychotherapists, such as psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists) may subscribe to different 'schools of thought,' or philosophies on how to effectively
reduce psychological symptoms in young people. Some of these philosophies are based directly on scientific evidence that indicates the best routes to symptom relief, whereas other mental health
care providers may offer treatment that is not based on strong scientific evidence, or for which no evidence is available to date. Adherence to psychological approaches and techniques that are
based on scientific evidence is referred to as "Evidence-based Practice" (EBP).
Click here to learn more about how research support is defined and evaluated.
Unfortunately, many members of the public are either unaware that EBPs for children and adolescents exist or they are unfamiliar with the distinction between EBPs and other treatment options.
Consequently, children and adolescents may remain in long-term psychotherapy for months, or even years, without their parents or guardians ever realizing that evidence-based options are available.
Note that EBP therapies are listed as 'Best Practice' and 'preferred' approaches for psychological symptom treatment by both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association.
What are EBPs for children and adolescents?
EBPs are treatments that are based directly on scientific evidence that has revealed the strongest contributors and risk factors for psychological symptoms. Most EBPs have been studied in several large-scale clinical trials, involving thousands of children and/or adolescents and careful comparison of the effects of EBPs vs. other types of psychological treatments. Dozens of multi-year studies have shown that EBPs can reduce symptoms significantly for many years following the end of psychological treatment-similar evidence for other types of therapies is not currently available.
The most commonly used evidence-based practice approaches for the treatment of psychological symptoms involve cognitive and behavior therapies (CBT).
The efficacy of CBT has been demonstrated for a wide-range of symptoms in adults, adolescents, and children.
Click here to learn more about CBT.
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