Effectiveness Of Psychosocial Interventions Research Articles

Effective psychosocial treatments for children: A selected review

A number of recent professional developments are having an increasing impact on the provision of social work mental health services to children. Among these developments are the emergence of practice guidelines by the federal government and the disciplines of psychology and psychology, the growing body of empirical research evidence documenting the efficacy of selected psychosocial interventions, and the impact of managed care programs. Citing the right of child clients to receive demonstrably effective social work treatments, the author reviews some disorders for which credible research evidence exists pertaining to how to alleviate them. The article suggests these developments possess the potential to positively impact the delivery of social work services to children, at some cost in terms of professional autonomy.

The undertreatment of depression.

In spite of considerable progress in the establishment of physical and psychological treatments for major depression in clinical trials, little is known of the impact of treatment on the prevalence and course of depression in the population. Improved methods for assessing need for care have not yet been applied systematically to such a population. One hundred and thirty men and women attending psychiatric hospitals with depressive disorders were interviewed at the time of their initial contact. After a mean 4-month interval, 119 were reassessed in order to determine the extent to which potentially effective treatments were being fully deployed in those who had not made a complete recovery. Half had made a good recovery. At least 78% of those remaining at threshold level or above apparently had not been offered alternative, potentially effective physical or psychosocial treatment, and were therefore rated as having unmet need. Older male patients were less likely to have unmet need. This study thus raises doubts about the effectiveness of routine clinical management of depression. However, we will remain uncertain of how far the routine falls below the ideal until systematic needs for care procedures (Brewin et al. 1987) are applied prospectively to depressed populations.

Levels of Interest in an Epidemiological Approach of Identifying Psychomental Risk Factors for Cancer

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