Using strength-based assessment to determine the effectiveness of mental health interventions in Head Start children

BACKGROUND Self-guided online mental health programs are effective in treating and preventing mental health problems. However, both the uptake and engagement with these programs in the community is suboptimal, and there is limited current evidence indicating how to increase the use of existing evidence-based programs. OBJECTIVE The current study aims to investigate the views of people with lived experience of depression and anxiety on the barriers and facilitators to using e-mental health interventions and to use these perspectives to help develop an engagement-facilitation intervention (EFI) to increase uptake and engagement with self-guided online mental health programs. METHODS A total of 24 community members (female = 21; male = 3) with lived experience of depression and/or anxiety participated in four focus groups that discussed: 1) barriers and facilitators to self-guided e-mental health programs, 2) specific details needed to help them decide to use an online program, and 3) the appearance, delivery mode, and functionality of content for the proposed EFI. A total of 14 of the focus group attendees participated in a subsequent follow-up survey to evaluate the resultant draft EFI. Data were thematically analysed using both inductive and deductive methods. RESULTS Participants suggested that the critical component of an EFI was information that would challenge personal barriers to engagement with psychosocial interventions. These were providing personalised feedback about symptoms, information about the content and effectiveness of the e-mental health program, normalisation of participation in e-mental health programs including testimonials, and brief information on data security. Reminders, rewards, feedback about their progress, and coaching were all mentioned as being useful in assisting people to continue to engage with a program once they had started. Feedback on the developed EFI was positive; with participants reporting satisfaction with the content of the EFI and that it would likely positively affect their use of an e-mental health program. CONCLUSIONS EFIs have the potential to improve the uptake of e-mental health programs in the community and should focus on providing information on the content and effectiveness of e-mental health programs, as well as normalising their use. There is strong value in involving people with a lived experience in the design and development of EFIs to maximise their effectiveness.

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Out of tune: Perceptions of, engagement with, and responses to mental health interventions by professional popular musicians—A scoping review

Psychology of Music ◽

10.1177/03057356211019477 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 030573562110194

Author(s):

Amy Visser ◽

Megan Lee ◽

Timothy Barringham ◽

Nasim Salehi

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Distinct Group ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Mental Health Interventions ◽

Industry Peers

Professional popular musicians are at increased risk of psychological distress, substance use problems, and suicide, yet little evidence is available on effective psychotherapeutic practices to address these issues. This scoping review aims to understand how professional popular musicians perceive, engage with, and respond to mental health interventions. Four databases were searched, garnering a total of 310 articles. Of these, six met inclusion criteria. Four thematic categories were explored: (1) amenability of professional popular musicians to particular therapeutic approaches; (2) attribution of treatment outcomes to tailored approaches; (3) professional popular musicians’ perceived barriers to treatment; and (4) recommendations for treatment approaches. The scoping review supports the importance of considering the characteristics of professional popular musicians as a distinct group with unique well-being needs, challenges, and strengths. There is a clear preference for tailored, affordable, and accessible approaches that consider the uniquities of musicianship and the need to explore the role of nonclinical support, such as friends, family, and industry peers.

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Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02020-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Henrik Wiegelmann ◽

Sarah Speller ◽

Lisa-Marie Verhaert ◽

Liane Schirra-Weirich ◽

Karin Wolf-Ostermann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Informal Caregivers ◽

Psychosocial Interventions ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Subjective Burden ◽

Dementia Caregivers ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Mental Health Interventions

Abstract Background Informal caregivers of persons living with dementia have an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. It is therefore important to systematically summarize published literature in order to find out which mental health interventions generate effective support for informal caregivers of persons living with dementia. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of intervention content, effectiveness and subgroup differentiation of mental health interventions for informal caregivers of persons with dementia living at home. Method We searched four electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus and CINAHL) and included only methodically high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published in English or German language between 2009 and 2018. The intervention programmes focused on mental health of family caregivers. A narrative synthesis of the included studies is given. Results Forty-eight publications relating to 46 intervention programmes met the inclusion criteria. Burden, depression and quality of life (QoL) are the predominant parameters that were investigated. Twenty-five of forty-six interventions (54.3%) show positive effects on at least one of the outcomes examined. Most often, positive effects are reported for the outcome subjective burden (46.2%). Only six studies explicitly target on a certain subgroup of informal dementia caregivers (13%), whereas all other interventions (87%) target the group as a whole without differentiation. Conclusion The most beneficial results were found for cognitive behavioural approaches, especially concerning the reduction of depressive symptoms. Besides this, leisure and physical activity interventions show some good results in reducing subjective caregiver burden. In order to improve effectiveness, research and practice may focus on developing more targeted interventions for special dementia informal caregiver subgroups.

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“Smartphone Apps Are Cool, but Do They Help Me?”: A Qualitative Interview Study of Adolescents’ Perspectives on Using Smartphone Interventions to Manage Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18063289 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 3289

Author(s):

Anja Čuš ◽

Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽

Susanne Ohmann ◽

Paul L. Plener ◽

Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young People ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Related Factors ◽

Self Injury ◽

Qualitative Interview Study ◽

Mental Health Interventions ◽

Nonsuicidal Self Injury

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.

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