Treatment Intervention

Creating an evidence-based treatment for mental health care begins like any intervention—with a need. A clinician may observe the shortcomings of current treatments in clinical settings and be inspired to search for ways to advance them. For example, the clinician may observe that a patient’s symptoms are improving in an area not directly targeted by the treatment. The clinician may then question if this phenomenon is generalizable to other patients. Outside of the clinical setting, a treatment developer may recognize that a treatment is fulfilling a need that it was not previously designed to target. Additionally, research on the development, maintenance, or persistence of a disorder can inform how to best treat the disorder. Childhood is a critical period for emotional, social, and academic development. ...