Exploring the efficacy of cognitive behavioural informed interventions delivered within a school-based Mental Health Support Team

Abstract Increasing numbers of children and young people (CYP) are presenting with common mental health difficulties. In 2017, the UK government outlined a service transformation plan which led to the development and implementation of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), to deliver evidence-based interventions in schools for mild to moderate mental health difficulties. This service evaluation aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of individual interventions delivered by MHST practitioners trained to deliver low-intensity cognitive behavioural interventions to CYP with mild to moderate mental health difficulties, within one service based in the South East of England. Four hundred and fifty-nine CYP engaged in an individual intervention delivered by MHST practitioners between January 2021 and December 2022. Interventions were delivered either online via video call or face-to-face. All children and their parents/carers were invited to complete two routine outcome measures (Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)) at baseline and post-intervention. Outcome data demonstrated significant improvements across all child- and parent-rated RCADS anxiety and depression scales. Significant improvements were also shown for both child- and parent-rated SDQ total difficulties and impact scores. These all showed effect sizes ranging from medium to large. Girls presented higher scores pre- and post-intervention compared with boys apart from the OCD subscale; gender was not a predictor of improvement in the majority of analyses. Individual, low-intensity cognitive behavioural interventions delivered in this MHST service were effective in reducing symptoms of emotional and behavioural difficulties in CYP with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Key learning aims (1) Understand the context of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) as an early intervention service within school settings. (2) Learn about the impact of MHST-delivered interventions on symptoms of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and young people. (3) To gain an understanding of how boys and girls may respond differently to MHST-delivered interventions.