Improving School Counselor Training
An ongoing project (2022-2026).
The Aim of the Study:
The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test the EMPOWER Youth intervention.
The Background:
EMPOWER Youth was designed for the youth ages 10-19 struggling with internalizing problems, including anxiety and depression, and interpersonal difficulties. In developing the intervention, we aimed to select techniques that were feasible for delivery by a diverse range of frontline providers and were based on psychosocial treatments with robust evidence. We drew from the FIRST principles, which are empirically supported principles of change.
The Project Plan:
The HMS team partnered with Dr. John Weisz (Department of Psychology at Harvard University), Dr. Kate McLaughlin (the Ballmer Institute), and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to design the content of the EMPOWER Youth intervention. Once the content was created, we digitized the training curriculum and conducted a brief pilot test to assess the feasibility and acceptability of our training approach and EMPOWER Youth content. The pilot study enrolled providers affiliated with the University of Oregon Ballmer Institute’s Graduate Microcredential Program in Child Behavioral Health, as well as providers affiliated with Davis Middle School and after-school programming in San Antonio, TX.
Supporters and Project Duration:
The development of the EMPOWER Youth Intervention was funded by the Manton Foundation (2022-2026).