(PS5-35) Therapists’ Pre-Service Training Effects on Behavioral Intentions for Treating Anxiety and Disruptive Behavior Youth Problems

Abstract Text: Schools generally provide between 70% to 80% of all mental health services delivered to youth (Farmers et al., 2003; Hazen et al., 2004), with about 22.1% of youth with a formal mental health diagnosis receiving treatment through their school (Duong et al., 2021). Given the intersection between youth mental healthcare and the school setting, school-based mental health providers are uniquely positioned to support the delivery of EBP, and more research is warranted to establish a more comprehensive foundational understanding of routine care in school mental health. Some theoretical frameworks suggest that the first step to successful implementation is to gain an understanding of the routine practices and provider characteristics within an organization (Aarons et al., 2011). Characteristics of the service providers involved in EBP implementation efforts is one of several important factors that may help to inform implementation initiatives.
A particular provider characteristic with the potential for augmenting in-service training effects is formal graduate training experiences. The clinical training one receives in graduate school has been conceptualized as one of the most direct ways to promote EBP behavior (Becker-Haimes et al., 2019). Studies have shown that despite reportedly receiving instruction and experience in EBP, there is a considerable number of current and future mental health professionals reporting insufficient training in interventions with empirical support (e.g. Hicks et al., 2014).
This study utilized existing program evaluation data from a Hawai'i Department of Education (HIDOE) therapist EBP training initiative to examine the relationship between providers’ previous training experiences and treatment intentions. 103 school-based providers volunteered to participate, including 69 (78.4%) four-year or masters-level, and 19 (21.5%) doctoral-level providers. Providers retrospectively rated the degree to which different discrete treatment techniques (e.g., exposure) were covered in their graduate training program, as well as endorsed their current intentions (i.e., yes or no) to use a given technique to treat a hypothetical client presenting with either anxiety or disruptive behavior concerns. Independent sample t-tests were then used to compare degree of training between providers who did and did not endorse intentions to use a given technique for either problem area. Results indicated that overall, increased training experiences were more often associated with technique endorsement, although not consistently to the level of significance. Six techniques endorsed for treating anxiety and three techniques for disruptive behavior demonstrated significant differences in providers’ level of training, with providers who endorsed those practices indicating more thorough and applied graduate training experiences in those techniques (p < .05). These findings, and further research connecting previous training and in-service behavior could help both training programs and healthcare systems develop a continuous learning pathway through which they may better prepare their providers to deliver more effective, evidence-based services.