Effective Mental Health Intervention for Youth

Course goals

Students will be able to:

• apply knowledge on the function of Assessment for Intervention to case examples leading to an understanding of the problematic situation and recommendations on how to alleviate or solve this situation (intervention), depending on the clients’ questions
• apply knowledge on child and adolescent psychology to case examples, in which students take a contextual and developmental approach to establish proper treatment recommendations
• critically reflect on scientific literature on prevention and treatment for youth and issues related to development and treatment of psychological problems in children and adolescents
• critically reflect on research methods in prevention and intervention research, regarding effectiveness/efficacy and quality of prevention and treatment programs and methods
• judge the effectiveness/efficacy and quality of prevention and treatment programs and methods
• discuss recent developments in the field of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
• argue their opinion on current issues in effective intervention for youth

Relation between assessment and objective
In the final assignment, it is expected that you are able to apply scientific knowledge on the development and treatment of psychopathology to a case formulation. It is important that you reflect critically on the scientific literature and take an evidence-based and goal-directed perspective. It is expected that you are able to argue your opinion on topics relevant to effective intervention for youth in a position assignment. Scientific knowledge on effective intervention and applying this knowledge is also tested in an exam regarding the lectures and course literature.

Content

This course aims to increase insights in the development of, and ways to prevent or successfully treat psychopathology in children and adolescents. 
You will learn how to apply knowledge about the primary factors causing, increasing and maintaining psychopathology to establish proper treatment recommendations.
Scientific knowledge on (the effectiveness/efficacy of) preventive intervention and treatment will be increased.
Furthermore, you will learn how to determine which intervention is most effective for a specific client, by looking at which intervention works, for whom, when and why.
You will learn to implement your scientific knowledge in the daily practice of psychological care, and learn to reflect critically on those practices.