Expanding Mental Health Care for Youth with Developmental Disabilities

Background/Purpose: Youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) often struggle with depression and anxiety disorders, adversely impacting transition to adulthood. Further, caregivers of youth with I/DD often report difficulty finding mental health providers in their communities who are willing to provide services to the I/DD population. This study aims to describe how training and mentoring Master of Social Work (MSW) interns in this service area can build competent providers for the disability community.

Methods: The study utilizes data from an ongoing two-armed, comparative effectiveness trial testing the efficacy of a stratified behavioral health treatment model in promoting positive mental health outcomes in a sample of 780 youth with I/DD aged 13-20 years. To date, 118 youth with I/DD have been randomized to the intervention arm, which receives tiered mental health programming. This programming is conducted virtually, to reach youth across the state of Illinois and make services more accessible for those living in areas with limited access to behavioral health care. The programming includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups facilitated by a trained clinician and MSW interns. CBT groups consist of 10 weekly sessions, and attendance (yes/no) is gathered at each session. In addition, feedback from interns and caregivers is collected when offered. MSW interns complete Likert scale items about their awareness of the disability community needs and their perceived level of preparation to work with this population.

Results: Participation in CBT groups was high, with an overall attendance rate of 81.90% across the ten weekly acute sessions. This is due in part to the availability of makeup sessions, which were developed to accommodate disability-related absences.

Caregivers of youth with I/DD indicated that participation in the CBT groups provided youth the opportunity to connect with other disabled peers, an experience many lacked prior to the study. Caregivers also shared that the study filled a needed gap in mental health care for youth since many had experienced a lack of providers with the experience and/or willingness to work with youth with I/DD. Caregivers provided feedback that the study helped youth better manage stress. Some shared that youth who had been previously resistant in participating in mental health interventions were more willing to attend CBT sessions.

Seven MSW interns have participated in the study to date; they shared that the experience helped build their competence working with the disability population in their future practice.

Conclusions/Implications: Preliminary results, including high group attendance rates and anecdotal feedback from youth and caregivers, indicate the intervention is perceived as beneficial by participants. Virtual interventions address participants' needs by connecting youth with I/DD that share similar experiences. Furthermore, our internship is consistently requested by MSW interns and effectively equips them to work with youth who have disabilities in the future, building capacity for the social work workforce across research, macro, and clinical settings.