Impact of Telehealth on Engagement in Psychotherapy and/or Medication Treatment

Impact of Telehealth on Engagement in Psychotherapy and/or Medication Treatment

In the present study, investigators aim to (1) adapt the Making Connections Intervention (MCI) as an intervention to address telehealth engagement and examine whether this targeted intervention can improve youth engagement in telehealth treatment; and (2) assess attitudes towards help-seeking and therapeutic alliance from both the youth and clinician viewpoint to examine the impact of these factors on engagement in telemental health treatment. Forty adolescent participants ages 12-18 will be randomized to either telehealth treatment as usual (TAU) plus the telehealth Making Connections Intervention (MCI-T) engagement session or telehealth TAU alone and followed for 12 weeks from baseline assessment. All clinicians will receive training in the MCI-T intervention and provide either MCI-T + usual care or usual care only depending on the condition to which the adolescents are randomized. All evaluations and therapy sessions will be done over telehealth platform.

Clinicians who participate in the study may be assigned more than one study case, and therefore will complete measures on each study case. All of the clinicians will receive training in the Making Connections Intervention-Telehealth (MCI-T) intervention. The clinicians will deliver the intervention based on the random assignment of the adolescent participants to a treatment arm. When clinicians provide care to adolescents randomized to the MCI-T condition, they will participate in a monthly consultation over telehealth to review cases to promote adherence and fidelity to the treatment.

Inclusion Criteria: Youth Sample

1. Youth ages 12-18 years of age receiving an evaluation in the diagnostic evaluation service, the Diagnostic Evaluation and Stabilization Clinic (DESC), or another clinical service in the outpatient Child Behavioral Health Service at NewYork Presbyterian (NYP) - Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital (MSCH)/ NYP-MSCH.
2. English speaking

Exclusion Criteria: Youth Sample

1. Active Suicidal Ideation with current plan and/or intent that requires a higher level of care than outpatient treatment or treatment in DESC
2. Diagnosis of intellectual disability

Inclusion Criteria: Clinician Sample

1. Work as a clinician in any MSCH Outpatient Behavioral Health Service or DESC
2. Clinician consent
3. English or bilingual in English and Spanish

Exclusion Criteria: Clinician Sample

1. None