title: Translating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxious Youth to Rural-Community Settings via Tele-Psychiatry.
abstract: This study aimed to determine the feasibility of translating cognitive behavioral therapy for anxious youth to rural-community settings via tele-psychiatry training. A 20-week group-supervision training program was delivered to ten different groups from different agencies within Northern Ontario. Each group consisted of four to nine clinicians with child therapy background not specific to CBT (n = 78, 51% social workers, 49% other mental health disciplines). Clinicians were each required to treat an anxious youth under supervision. Changes in clinician knowledge and youth internalizing symptoms were measured. Northern Ontario clinicians showed significant gains on a child CBT-related knowledge test (t (1, 52) = -4.6, p < .001). Although youth treated by these clinicians showed a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms, possible response bias and the lack of a comparison group mandate further studies before generalizing our findings. Nevertheless, training local therapists in anxiety-focused CBT for children via a group supervision based tele-psychiatry model appears to be a feasible and well-received approach to knowledge translation to rural settings.
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. emily@drfountain.ca.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Manassis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Abel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ickowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mendlowitz
authors.affiliation: Laurentian University, Greater Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Behdin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nowrouzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilansky-Traynor
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Children's Centre Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002983:Clinical Competence; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000193:education*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003158:Community Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors; D009864:Ontario; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012424:Rural Population; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
keywords: Anxiety disorders; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Group-supervision; Knowledge translation; Telepsychiatry