Core components of therapy in youth: Do we know what to disseminate? Behavior Modification

Bridging the gap between lab and clinic has become a rallying cry for a generation of treatment researchers, and identifying and overcoming barriers to successful dissemination of best-practice treatment has become a major public mental health priority. In this review, the authors argue that a key limit to accom-plishing this goal may be found back in the original research laboratories where these treatments were developed. Despite 50 years of research and 1,500 clini-cal trials, there are surprisingly little data on what makes youth psychotherapy therapeutic. To illustrate the problem this poses for dissemination, the adoles-cent depression literature is reviewed in terms of (a) critical core components of intervention and (b) basic processes through which these techniques operate. Process–outcome relationships in cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and fam-ily therapy models are examined with descriptive meta-analytic techniques. Discussion of treatment dissemination follows, focusing on the value of basic research on core psychotherapeutic techniques and processes