2 - (SYM 125) Effectiveness of a Workshop on Evidence-based Engagement Strategies for School-based Providers

Great strides have been made in the development and study of empirically supported treatments for youth and families with mental health concerns. However, few studies address the troubling statistics about treatment engagement. Less than 50 percent of youth and families in need of services receive access to care, and there are strikingly high attrition rates from those who initiate treatment (Becker & Chorpita, 2023). Treatment engagement is notably lower for families of color (Chorpita & Becker, 2022). Youth and families who have experienced traumatic events exhibit even weaker treatment participation (Merikangas et al., 2011; Stewart et al., 2021).

Treatment engagement is impacted by many factors, including organizational and community methods of providing mental health care (Gellatly et al., 2019). Particularly in schools, there is a dearth of training in evidence-based engagement strategies. The National Child HELP Partnership (SAMHSA; Brown, PI) aims to increase training and access to trauma-specific interventions in schools across the United States. The proposed presentation is an examination of the effectiveness of an interactive workshop focused on evidence-based engagement strategies for trauma survivors.

Participants (n = 36) in this ongoing study are mental health practitioners as well as non-clinical staff based in schools and partner agencies across the United States. Participants attend Engaging Trauma Survivors, a workshop that applies evidence-based engagement strategies to concrete, perceptual, and trauma-specific barriers for traumatized families using interactive strategies. Following the workshop, participants completed a post-training survey containing 10 multiple-choice questions that assessed acquired knowledge of engagement strategies and satisfaction with the workshop. 

A preliminary examination of the post-workshop knowledge scores showed that of the survey completers, over 80% of participants scored 75% accuracy on survey items. To examine group differences in knowledge, a linear regression was conducted with Role (clinical versus nonclinical) as the predictor, and Percent Correct on the knowledge scale as the criterion variable. The overall model was significant, predicting 21.1% of the variance, F(1,31) = 8.308, p =.007. Clinical staff knowledge scores (M = 7.88, SD = 2.118) were significantly higher than non-clinical staff (M = 4.94, SD = 3.605). Future work is needed to investigate whether knowledge gains are associated with increased treatment engagement and retention in practice.