BACKGROUND

Millions of youths in U.S. receive mental health services, yet we know little about treatment variation and outcomes. While there has been increasing attention given to "evidence-based" mental health care in public and private sectors, the extent to which there is a relevant "evidence-base" for community-based child and family psychotherapy is uncertain. While a great deal of research on the efficacy of specific psychotherapy models exists, the applicability of this research to "real world" practice has been very limited. In fact, there is very little research addressing actual practice in community settings.

Many argue that research would be more relevant to actual practice if clinicians were more closely involved in the research and if the research were conducted in "real world" practice settings, as opposed to research laboratories. Although researchers and clinicians share the common goal of learning more about how to improve care for troubled children and families, there has been little cross-communication and collaboration between these groups. This research - practice gap limits effectiveness of care as well as the relevance and utility of research. Bridging this gap requires greater attention to realities of practice and stronger collaboration with therapists.

The Study

The Practice and Research: Advancing Collaboration (PRAC) project is a federally funded study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study began in September, 2002 and is funded for five years. It includes approximately 80 clinicians and more than 200 children ages 4-13 and their families entering treatment for disruptive behavior problems in six San Diego County outpatient mental health clinics

The goals of the PRAC project are to learn more about how psychotherapy is practiced in community-based clinics for children and families and gain greater understanding about how to better integrate research and practice.