Developing Partnerships in the Provision of Youth Mental Health Services and Clinical Education: A School-Based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Targeting Anxiety Symptoms in Children☆
Section snippets
Participants
The present study formed part of an ongoing collaboration between the University and the Education Department. Children were recruited from a local primary school following approvals from the University, Education Department, and school principal. The school is a large, co-educational school for students in grades Prep to 12, including students from a range of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. All children in grade 5 over 2 consecutive years (N = 243) received the intervention during regular
Preliminary Comparisons
As shown in Table 1, there were no significant differences as a function of Condition (active; control) in children’s age, t(149) = .88, p = .38, gender, χ2 = 0.01, p = .91, or the country they were born in, χ2 < 2.40, p = .12. According to parent report on the family information sheet, there were no significant differences between the active and control conditions in how many children had previous mental health diagnoses (e.g., Asperger’s, posttraumatic stress disorder, dyspraxia), χ2 = 0.18, p = .67,
Discussion
The present study found that an evidence-based CBI for anxiety symptoms that was coordinated and implemented by staff and clinical students within a school-based psychology clinic arising from a partnership between the University and the Education Department produced a number of significant benefits. Children’s self-reported anxiety symptoms and perceptions of their social skills, as well as the number of children with high levels of anxiety symptoms, all declined significantly, and children’s
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
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Thanks are due to the supportive staff at the participating primary school and the clinical psychology postgraduate interns for their assistance during this project.