Putting empirically supported treatments into practice: Lessons learned in a children's mental health center.

The authors' experiences of implementing an EST at a children's mental health center by involving the collaboration of clinicians, administrators, and innovator(s) suggest that ESTs can be flexibly and successfully implemented with integrity.

Abstract

With the increasing focus on service accountability, there is an urgent need to identify empirically supported treatments (ESTs) and disseminate their use in the daily practice of mental health organizations. This articledescribes the authors' experiences of implementing an EST at a children's mental health center by involving the collaboration of clinicians, administrators, and innovator(s). Initially, a small group of clinicians voluntarily commit to pilot test the EST, with the intention of evaluating the adoption and integration of the treatment model into the organization's full-service delivery system. Using E. M. Rogers's (1995) work on the diffusion of innovations, the current case study example suggests that ESTs can be flexibly and successfully implemented with integrity.