New Technologies for Therapist Training and Patient Engagement in Behavioral Parent Training

Project Summary Abstract Behavioral parent trainingBPTis the gold standard treatment for disruptive behavior in preschool and elementary school age childrenDespite clear empirical evidence that it is effectiveadoption rates by practitioners remains woefully low due in part to a shortage of clinicians trained in BPTIn additioneven when BPT is administeredit is often done incorrectlyThe current study will use web based technologies to address these issues by developing a two parttechnology enhanced training intervention consisting ofA web based therapist training tutorial covering BPT principlesconceptsand skillsfollowed bylive practice and observation via videoconference of trainees applying these skills The long term goals are to meet the critical unmet need for trained BPT therapistsand improve the efficacy of BPT therapy when utilized by therapistsTwenty four clinicians who work with parents who have a child with a disruptive behavior disorder will be recruitedTrainees will first complete the online BPT tutorialand then conduct three practice BPT session with the BPT trainer via videoconferencein order to help trainees learn how to actually apply the specific core skills taughtPre and post training measures of BPT conceptual knowledgeskill in administering BPT interventionsand user satisfaction will be obtainedThe proposed research directly addresses several of the NIMH critical objectives includingWeb based tools to enhance preventionearly identificationand treatment of pediatric mental disordersNIMH Division of Developmental Translational ResearchDissemination and implementation of evidence based interventions into service settingsDivision of Services and Intervention ResearchandRapid development and evaluation of mobile based platforms and applicationsNIMHall divisions