Lyn Littlefield

KidsMatter: A Population Health Model to Support Student Mental Health and Well-being in Primary Schools

This article provides an overview of a new schoolbased mental health initiative currently being trialed in 101 primary schools in Australia. KidsMatter: the Australian Primary School Mental Health Initiative is a population model for supporting student mental health and well-being. Using a whole-school implementation model, it provides schools with a framework, a guided process and key resources to develop and implement a co-ordinated set of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) strategies for the specific mental health and well-being needs of their students. Through KidsMatter primary schools are engaged in building their capacities for PPEI by promoting a positive school community, teaching social and emotional skills, providing parenting support and education, and facilitating early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties. The article describes the rationale and theoretical underpinnings of KidsMatter, outlines key features of the framework, implementation process and resources, and concludes with an overview of the major goals of the trial and the anticipated learning from the evaluation.

Impact of Australia's better outcomes in mental health care program on psychologists

Abstract The aim of this paper was to consider the impact on psychologists of one component of the Australian Governments Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care (BOiMHC) program, namely the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) component. This supports psychologists and general practitioners (GPs) to work together to provide optimal mental health care, via 102 projects being conducted by Divisions of General Practice. The paper was informed by data from five sources: a project-based minimum dataset; local project evaluation reports; a forum; a survey of projects; and a survey of Australian Psychological Society (APS) members. Taken together, the data from these sources showed that a significant number of psychologists are providing services through the projects, and the majority are finding it a positive and professionally rewarding experience. There is considerable variability regarding models of retaining, locating and referring to psychologists, and there are pros and cons associated with eac...

Outcome Evaluation of a Statewide Child Inpatient Mental Health Unit

Objective: To assess the impact of inpatient intervention, provided by a child mental health unit in Victoria, Australia, on a number of key child and family variables. Method: Pre-post test design with a four-month follow up was applied to assess changes across time. Twenty-nine parents, 42 teachers, and 37 referrers provided reports on a series of child, parent, and family functioning measures. Results: Significant improvements in child behaviour and functioning, parenting competency and efficacy, parenting practices, and reduced parental depression were observed over time. Changes in family functioning scores were not significant; however, univariate analysis indicated improvements in two individual subscales. Conclusions: There is a lack of studies of the outcome of inpatient interventions of children in psychiatric settings. However, as shown in the present study, improvements in functioning can be detected and obtained with short-term interventions that focus on both children and families. Methodological shortcomings (i.e. absence of comparison groups) and lack of specificity in intervention variables, however, are difficulties yet to be overcome in evaluation research of inpatient treatment.

Evaluation of the Family Intervention Service for Children Presenting with Characteristics Associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Abstract The Victorian Parenting Centre Family Intervention Service (FIS) conducts brief group and individual parent training programs (Triple P) intended as preventative interventions for families of children at risk of developing emotional and behavioural problems. This paper reports on an evaluation of a Triple P intervention specifically with children exhibiting ADHD characteristics. Pre and post-intervention parental self-report data were analysed for 83 children aged 2 to 15 years. Following the FIS intervention there was a reduction in problem behaviour scores of children perceived to have a high frequency of behaviours typical of ADHD. Mothers also reported reduced depression, anxiety and stress, increased feelings of satisfaction and competency in parenting, less negative parenting behaviour, and reduction in parental conflict. Furthermore, they expressed a high level of satisfaction with the program. These evaluation findings are consistent with those of controlled investigations of the impact of behavioural family intervention on problematic behaviours of children with ADHD.

The genesis, implementation and impact of the Better Access mental health initiative introducing Medicare-funded psychology services

The Australian Governments Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative introduced mental health reforms that included the availability of Medicare-funded psychology services. The mental health initiative has resulted in a huge uptake of these services, demonstrating the strong community demand for psychological treatment. The initiative has also had a substantial impact on the profile of the psychology profession. After a full year of implementation, analysis of the impact of the availability of funded psychology services identified a number of issues and challenges. However, it is evident that the inclusion of these services under Medicare has been a most important advance for the psychology profession and the mental health of the Australian community.

Early intervention for preschoolers with behaviour problems: Preliminary findings for the Exploring Together Preschool Program

There is increasing recognition of the need for early intervention into behavioural problems in preschool aged children (3–6 years) to prevent long-term adverse outcomes. This paper reports on the Exploring Together Preschool Program (ETPP), an innovative, developmental theory based, early intervention program, aimed at preschoolers referred with behaviour problems who are at risk of developing ongoing mental health problems. ETPP is a multifaceted group program comprising parent behaviour management training, parent-child interaction therapy, and children’s social problem-solving training. Seven groups comprising 37 preschoolers and one of their parents referred from clinical and community settings participated in the 10-week program. Results indicate that children’s behaviour problems reduced clinically and significantly from pre- to post-program whilst social skills improved significantly. Parenting practices and parents’ satisfaction with their role also improved significantly. Improvements were mostly maintained at 6-month follow-up. Developmental theory suggests that these changes will help prevent behaviour problems from developing into long-term, enduring mental health problems. The study provides preliminary evidence that ETPP is a theoretically and developmentally sound, comprehensive intervention for Australian families with preschool aged children who show early signs of mental health problems.

Early intervention services in youth mental health

Abstract Mental and substance use disorders are leading contributors to the burden of disease among young people in Australia, but young people experience a range of barriers to accessing appropriate treatment for their mental health concerns. The development of early intervention services that provide accessible and effective mental health care has the potential to reduce the individual and community burden associated with mental health problems. Collaborative care arrangements between general practitioners, psychologists and other service providers are a key component of comprehensive and integrated early intervention services, with evidence-based psychological treatments an important part of these collaborative mental health care models. Recently, the Australian Government funded headspace (the National Youth Mental Health Foundation) to promote and support early intervention in youth mental health by establishing accessible and collaborative models of enhanced primary mental health care for young peop...

KidsMatter: Building the Capacity of Australian Primary Schools and Early Childhood Services to Foster Children’s Social and Emotional Skills and Promote Children’s Mental Health

KidsMatter is an Australian promotion, prevention and early intervention mental health initiative currently being implemented in over 3,000 primary schools and 400 early childhood services. It provides a framework for addressing children’s mental health that includes: creating a positive environment; fostering children’s social and emotional skills; supporting parenting; and early intervention for children experiencing mental health difficulties. KidsMatter recognises that children who have developmentally appropriate social and emotional skills are more likely to have better outcomes than children who are less competent. Children develop social and emotional skills in the context of their relationships with the significant adults in their lives, including parents, carers and educators. KidsMatter supports early childhood services and schools to embed social and emotional learning (SEL) within the curriculum provided for children. It recommends the implementation of evidence-based SEL programs, but also emphasises the importance of using daily interactions with children to support the development of their SEL skills, providing opportunities for children to practice and adapt their SEL skills and working collaboratively with families to assist children’s development of SEL skills.

Evaluation of Parents and Adolescents Communicating Together (PACT): a conflict resolution program

This study was designed to evaluate Parents and Adolescents Communicating Together (PACT), a program based on the skills of the Wise Ways to Win conflict resolution model (CRM). Mothers and adolescents participated in this program to enhance their communication skills and to develop effective conflict resolution skills. Multivariate analyses were used to examine whether mothers’ and adolescents’ understanding of the specific skills of the CRM improved following participation in the program. Results indicated that the program was successful in increasing mothers’ and adolescents’ abilities to resolve conflict with the aim of finding win-win solutions to problems. Changes in mother-adolescent conflict levels and improvements in communication skills were small, although the participants reported low levels of conflict in the mother-adolescent relationship and reasonable communication skills prior to participation in the program. The Wise Ways to Win conflict resolution model appears to be a theoretically sound model for teaching mothers and adolescents effective conflict resolution skills with the aim of creating win-win solutions to problems.

Development of the Private Practice Management Standards for Psychology

&NA; This paper describes the process of developing a set of private practice management standards to support Australian psychologists and promote high quality services to the public. A review of the literature was conducted to identify management standards relevant to psychology, which were further developed in consultation with a panel of experts in psychology or in the development of standards. Forty–three psychologists in independent private practice took part in either a survey (n=22) to provide feedback on the relevance of, and their compliance with, the identified standards, or a 6–month pilot study (n=21) in which a web–based self–assessment instrument evaluating the final set of standards and performance indicators was implemented in their practice to investigate self–reported change in management procedures. The pilot study demonstrated good outcomes for practitioners when evaluation of compliance to the standards was operationalized in a self–assessment format. Study results are based on a small sample size. Nevertheless, relevance and utility of the standards was found providing an initial version of management standards that have relevance to the practice of psychology in Australia, along with a system for evaluating psychological service provision to ensure best practice in service delivery.