We are conducting a study to understand the role of problem-solving in challenging behaviors for children with Down syndrome so that we can better understand the development of and treat these behaviors. If you agree to participate, this study will involve questionnaires, some of which may be completed at home. You would also attend an in-person visit that involves measuring your child’s naturally-occurring brain activity with EEG as well as cognitive assessments. We would schedule your visit around your schedule to the best of our ability and we can schedule this visit in a location that is convenient for you (UW, home visits, etc.). Participants will receive an $80 gift card to thank them for their time.
Practice Type: Community Mental Health/Health Center/Faith Health Center
Exploring the implementation determinants of paraprofessional task-shared mental roles in integrated behavioral care settings in Washington State
The gap between the number of people needing and accessing mental health care has led to the development of new types of mental health providers to help expand access to care. These providers, referred to as paraprofessionals, have typically at most a bachelor’s degree and treat mild and moderate depression and anxiety. However, because the novelty of these roles in the Unites States, little is known about organizational and employee barriers to uptake and implementation. Further, little is known about US patient perspectives on having a paraprofessional mental health provider. The proposed research explores behavioral health employer, behavioral health employee, and patient perspectives on two new paraprofessional roles being deployed in Washington State – the mental health Community Health Worker and the Behavioral Health Support Specialist – to help identify key barriers and facilitators to implementation of these roles.
Partnering with the Quinault Indian Nation to develop a community-based contingency management intervention
Indigenous knowledge remains strong in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities despite colonization, postcolonial efforts to assimilate and eradicate AI/AN people, present-day inequities and structural racism. Despite strength and resilience, AI/AN populations have high rates of unintentional overdose and death by suicide. There is an urgent need for evidence-based, culturally responsive approaches to increase protective factors against substance use and mental illness in AI/AN communities.
This study is a partnership between University of Washington researchers and the Quinault Indian Nation’s behavioral health providers and community. We will design a culturally adapted community-based contingency management intervention to increase positive reinforcement for adolescents and young adults at risk for substance use and mental illness. This intervention will focus on community identified target behaviors rather than abstinence. By prioritizing the needs of the community we will develop an intervention that is effective, usable and sustainable.
Improving the implementation of smartphone-based contingency management in medical settings for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder: a qualitative analysis of patient and clinician experiences
The proposed research is a qualitative analysis of patient and clinician experiences during a pilot study of mHealth-delivered contingency management for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder and will address perceived facilitators and reinforcing factors, barriers and limitations, and proposals for future improvements including specific recommendations regarding the intervention and its mode of delivery.
State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center
The State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center is a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. Through this subcontract, the UW SMART Center has a subcontract to develop a micro-credentialing program on implementation science (IS) for educators, and to develop and convene a national community of practice of educators focused on application of IS.
Achieving Reach in Youth Behavioral Health and Wellness through Catchment-Area Community Governance
This study, funded as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Systems for Action research program, evaluates the feasibility of the Youth Wellness Hub as a hyper-local community governance model for integrating delivery and financing systems for youth behavioral health and wellness services. The Youth Wellness Hub combines three social policy tools that are separately promising or well-supported in the research literature: community governance; public health education campaigns; and service network coordination through fiscal blending. The study uses a mixed-methods approach to assess feasibility of the model as tested in Tacoma, Washington, including surveys and interviews with community organizations together with a network analysis of these organizations. The study is conducted by the University of Washington in collaboration with the Excelsior Center for Health and Wellness, the Safe Streets Coalition, and other community partners.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for psychosis workforce development
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is a time-limited, structured form of talk therapy that is indicated for individuals who experience distress related to psychotic symptoms. Although evidence demonstrates effectiveness in enhancing care and outcomes for clients with psychosis, CBTp is not widely available in the United States. The UW SPIRIT Lab in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (PI: Sarah Kopelovich, PhD) applies evidence-based implementation and dissemination strategies such as blended learning, train and trainer, Project ECHO, longitudinal consultation to agencies, supervisors, and practitioners, fidelity assessment and monitoring, and sustaining the first CBTp Provider Network in the United States. The CBTp workforce development project aims to sustain and expand access to CBTp across publicly-funded behavioral health settings in Washington State.
Developing a digital training resource for clinicians learning CBT for psychosis (CBTpro)
The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Study will rigorously test CBTpro — a novel tool that uses spoken language technologies and conversational Artificial Intelligence to train behavioral health practitioners in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We conducted a 2-week field trial, followed by a Randomized Clinical Trail in community mental health agencies to evaluate both learner and client outcomes. The study aims to expand global access to CBT training to students and practitioners, support quality psychological treatments for clients with a range of behavioral health disorders (including Serious Mental Illness), and support ongoing clinical quality assurance in routine care settings.
Implementation Toolkit to Enhance EBP Among Marginalized Families (I-TEAM)
Although the efficacy of early intervention (EI) for autistic children and their families has been established, many marginalized families with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds still report inequitable access to evidence-based practices (EBP). The proposed research addresses three aims including: AIM 1. Identify facilitators and barriers of EBP implementation among marginalized families of young autistic children in EI; AIM 2. Develop an implementation toolkit with a focus on capacity building of EI providers to implement EBP with cultural responsiveness; and AIM 3. Examine the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of this toolkit through a pilot trial using RUBI behavioral parent training program.
Developing a cannabis intervention for young adults with psychosis
Up to one-third of young people experiencing early psychosis use cannabis, and one in four meet criteria for a cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use is associated with multiple negative outcomes, including relapse, rehospitalization, increased psychotic symptoms and reduced treatment engagement and medication adherence. Psychosis relapse is a particularly devastating and costly outcome, leading to greater disability and accounting for $37 billion in healthcare costs per year. Cannabis is considered the most preventable cause of psychosis relapse. Despite this, no effective cannabis-reduction intervention has been developed for this population.
This study will address the urgent need for an effective cannabis-reduction intervention for this high-risk population by adapting a gold-standard treatment, Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), for youth and young adults living with psychosis. A tailored cannabis intervention and provider manual will be developed and evaluated for feasibility and acceptability. This novel intervention has the potential to mitigate the costly impact of psychosis on public health systems and ultimately improve psychosis outcomes among young people living in Washington State.
