Efficacy of a Brief Intervention for School Clinicians (BRISC)

Status unconfirmed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Emotional/Behavioral Function, Academic Performance

In brief

Research shows that the majority of all mental health (MH) treatment for children is delivered in schools. Unfortunately, however, school mental health (SMH) providers rarely use evidence-based approaches and are often poorly integrated into the school context. Given the high (\>20%) and increasing rates of MH disorders among children and youth, MH clinicians working in schools need effective and efficient ways to address student emotional and behavioral problems. The Brief Intervention Strategy for School Clinicians (BRISC) is a four-session, flexible, and research-informed "Tier 2" intervention tailored to high school students and designed to fit the school context. Findings from initial research funded by an IES Development and Innovation grant, including a small (n=66) comparison study, indicate positive, small to large sized effects (ES = .30- 1.33) in favor of BRISC for MH impairment, emotional symptoms, therapeutic alliance, coping skills, and client satisfaction. Moreover, even though the majority of students who were referred to BRISC were in the clinical range for functional impairment due to MH problems, over 50% were able to step down to lower levels of intervention after four sessions of BRISC, demonstrating promise for efficiency and reach. Given potential for public health impact, the purpose of the current study is to further examine the efficacy of BRISC by assessing its impact on mental health and academic outcomes - as well as feasibility, acceptability, and efficiency - in a larger, multi-site trial.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03939208

Run by

University of Washington

People needed

850

Starts

2016-07-01

Expected to finish

2019-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2019-05-06

Who can join

Age: 14 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• SMH clinicians from a MH provider agency dedicated at .50 FTE to MH treatment (to ensure adequate integration in the school and students for the study) OR school counselors who are employed by the school district
• SMH clinicians or school counselors not currently receiving support to implement another specific intervention model
• Master's or Ph.D.-level mental health counselors

You may not qualify if…

• SMH clinicians with previous BRISC exposure
• Students
• Inclusion Criteria:
• Students must be age 14-21 years and enrolled in high school
• Students who are seeking or referred to services for the first time in the current school year, to minimize confusion about for which service episode measures should be completed
• English must be the first or primary language of the students
• If student is under 18 years old, a parent or legal guardian must consent for the student to participate
• Exclusion Criteria:
• Students receiving Special Education services due to cognitive disability, due to inappropriateness of BRISC for youth with these disorders
• Students in foster care, due to challenges in obtaining consent to participate from public child welfare systems who serve as guardians
• Students who present currently in a crisis situation (defer to clinician's clinical judgment)
• Parents/Guardians
• Inclusion Criteria:
• Biological parent or legal guardian
• Must be English or Spanish speaking.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• Parents who only speak any languages other than English or Spanish

Where it is running

• University of Washington School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center — Seattle, Washington, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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