Adapting TeamSTEPPS for school mental health teams: a pilot study

Ricardo Eiraldi,Eduardo Salas,Courtney Benjamin Wolk,Rebecca E Stewart,Peter Cronholm,David S Mandell

doi:10.1186/s40814-019-0529-z

Abstract

BackgroundSchool mental health care often is provided by teams contracted from community mental health agencies. The team members that provide this care, however, do not typically receive training in how to work effectively in a team-based context. Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) provides a promising, evidence-based strategy for improving communication and climate in school-based teams.MethodsIn collaboration with stakeholders, we adapted and piloted TeamSTEPPS for use with school mental health teams. Teams in six schools were randomized to receive the adapted TeamSTEPPS approach or usual supports. The main outcomes of interest were feasibility and acceptability of the adapted TeamSTEPPS strategy.ResultsResults indicated that team member burnout was significantly higher at follow-up than pretreatment for both control and intervention teams. TeamSTEPPS was feasible and acceptable to implement, and leadership emerged as an important facilitator. Barriers to implementation success included staff turnover, lack of resources, and challenges in the school mental health team relationship. Additional supports to implement TeamSTEPPS were suggested, including ongoing consultation and booster training to address high staff turnover.ConclusionsResults suggest that TeamSTEPPS is promising for school mental health teams but additional modifications are likely needed.

Highlights

School mental health care often is provided by teams contracted from community mental health agencies
In Philadelphia, most school-based mental health care is provided by teams contracted from community mental health agencies, a common model of school mental health service provision [6]
We explored the impact of TeamSTEPPS on provider burnout and the association between perceptions of TeamSTEPPS and staff turnover

Summary

Introduction

School mental health care often is provided by teams contracted from community mental health agencies. In Philadelphia, most school-based mental health care is provided by teams contracted from community mental health agencies, a common model of school mental health service provision [6] These teams include clinicians as well as individuals who perform in-class support and case management activities. In an effort to improve school mental health services in Philadelphia, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services has initiated extensive training and consultation in the broad application of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) [7] While this initiative represents an important step in advancing quality of care, additional implementation strategies that address contextual factors other than clinician skill may be needed to optimize services [8].

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Conclusion