Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-based Practices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Book excerpt: Mental health disorders are common in youth, impacting up to 1 in 5 children and adolescents. Typically, mental health difficulties result in impaired functioning and lower quality of life for both youth and their families. Fortunately, there are psychosocial treatments for the mental health needs of youth that have earned the -evidence-based- label. However, these treatments are not widely available, and it is estimated that it can take up to 17 years for them to be transported into community settings. As a result, a new field of dissemination and implementation (DI) science has emerged to address this problem. Dissemination refers to the transfer of information about evidence-based practices to community settings, and implementation refers to active strategies to assist adoption of evidence-based practices in community settings. Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health is the first book to bring together the world's foremost experts in implementation science and evidence-based practices for youth to provide the latest findings around DI for children and adolescents. Chapters provide comprehensive coverage of the science of dissemination and implementation across contexts, disorders, and international perspectives. This volume will be an essential resource to implementation scientists and scholars, instructors in doctoral-level training programs, and graduate students, as well as policymakers, community mental health clinicians and administrators, school administrators, researchers, and other mental health professionals.