New Publication in School Mental Health!

Journal Access Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12310-026-09876-0

Personal Access Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lI9iBjW_WT7TEsshkfs5nZwj9tq32gNH/view?usp=sharing

Paper Summary: Schools and outpatient mental health clinics are the two most common setting for youth mental health services. Outpatient mental health clinics are designed for mental health care and schools are not. Therefore, we sought to understand how care provided in schools compares to care provided in traditional outpatient clinics. We asked the following question: which setting (schools or clinics) allocated the greatest percentage of session time to, and demonstrated higher competence in, implementing evidence-based practices for anxiety, depression, and conduct problems, after controlling for youth symptom presentation at treatment onset? We used observational coding of treatment-as-usual sessions in 5 school districts and 3 outpatient clinics. Providers in clinics, compared to those in schools, devoted more than twice as much time in sessions to delivering evidence-based practices, but when such practices were delivered, providers in the two settings showed similar levels of competence. Future research may investigate what factors account for setting differences in the frequency with which clinician competencies are applied during sessions.