The Bridge from Research to Practice – Just Leap Across the Last Bit

Abstract

If the set of ten evidence-based interventions described in this volume is representative of all such treatments, what could the future bring but increasing quality and access to mental health services for children? This chapter discusses the balance between the power of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) to effectively treat maltreated children and the power of training practices to insure that clinicians provide the treatments as they were designed. While some of the inconsistency in the effectiveness of implementing EBTs can be attributed to not understanding the “human factor,” there is considerable research that suggests that organizational social construct – culture, climate, and work attitudes play an influential role in the effectiveness of EBT implementation. Characteristics of community mental health agencies, the organizational social construct in which EBTs are planted are also discussed.