Understanding the Effectiveness of the Cascading Model to Implement Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

• Published in: The journal of behavioral health services & research 2021-07, Vol.48 (3), p.427-445
• Main Authors: Brabson, Laurel A., Herschell, Amy D., Snider, Mira D. H., Jackson, Carrie B., Schaffner, Kristen F., Scudder, Ashley T., Kolko, David J., Mrozowski, Stanley J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Behavior modification; Community and Environmental Psychology; Employment status; Ethnicity; Evidence-based medicine; Evidence-Based Practice; Health behavior; Health Informatics; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Health Psychology; Health services; Humans; Knowledge; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Parent-Child interaction therapy; Parent-Child Relations; Personal Satisfaction; Psychiatry; Public Health; Race; Skills; Trainers; Training
• ISSN: 1094-3412; 1556-3308
• DOI: 10.1007/s11414-020-09732-2

Few community-based behavioral health clinicians are trained in evidence-based practices (EBPs). The Cascading Model (CM), a training model in which expert-trained clinicians train others at their agency, may help increase the number of EBP-trained clinicians. This study is one of the first to describe CM training methods and to examine differences between clinicians trained by an expert, and those trained through a within-agency training (WAT) by a fellow clinician. Results indicate that 56% of the 38 eligible clinicians chose to become trainers and 50% of the 56% conducted WATs to train others. This represents a 50% increase in EBP-trained clinicians within the study timeframe. Clinicians trained by an expert reported higher knowledge and training satisfaction than those trained through a WAT. Of note, clinicians trained through a WAT reported increases in EBP knowledge and were more diverse (race/ethnicity, employment status), suggesting that the CM may improve access to EBPs.