While many community mental health agencies have shown increasing emphasis in the direction of evidence-based practices (EBP) for children’s mental health, most training efforts have not included consultation on intervention delivery following training. A rising body of evidence suggests that one-time training workshops do not provide enough support to sufficiently influence clinician adherence with respect to EBP delivery, and that ongoing expert consultation is vital for motivating providers towards satisfactory implementation. Though the literature outlines consultation broadly, the fundamental elements of consultation, to date, remain elusive, and further investigation into the underlying mechanisms of this critical training strategy is warranted. To investigate consultation, biweekly consultant-led call summary emails (N=73) generated by five Ph.D. level expert consultants following EBP trainings were examined via identification of thematic issues addressed among community therapists belonging to six-month-long training cohorts. To ensure inter-rater reliability—improving internal validity—three peer examiners were commissioned to offer concordant verification of identified themes in the coding process. Each coding team member independently reviewed summary transcriptions and developed a list of themes. These subcategory themes were evaluated, discussed, and consolidated by the coding team into a coding scheme for each subcategory. By the day of the symposium presentation, data analysis will reach completion and key findings will be reported. Prospective results may include emergent themes related to EBP delivery (i.e., frequently addressed clinical issues, therapeutic barriers to treatment, etc.) This study contributes to a larger effort of examining core consultation functions, which may have broad applicability in the assessment of the conceptual framework needed to best improve consultant-clinician training initiatives in community mental health.

The traumatic loss of one or both parents is difficult for children to manage, even under the best circumstances. For children in low- and middle-income countries, the effects of being orphaned can be devastating. In Kenya and Tanzania, it is hard to meet orphans’ basic needs, such as food and shelter, let alone their mental health needs. The present study is examining data from a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a mental health treatment for orphans in Kenya and Tanzania. In the intervention condition of the RCT, orphaned children in these countries who presented with posttraumatic stress or grief symptoms participated in a 12-week Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) intervention, along with their guardians. TF-CBT was previously adapted to fit this cultural setting based on an earlier pilot study. This evidence-based treatment consisted of weekly group sessions led by trained local lay counselors following a predetermined schedule of TF-CBT components. We will be looking at data from 64 study participants’ qualitative interviews conducted 12 months post-treatment, in which children and their guardians reported their levels of satisfaction with the treatment they received. We are currently conducting content analysis on interview responses to identify common themes in the overall experiences, opinions, and life changes associated with participating in the TF-CBT intervention. Findings from this project have important implications for examining whether orphans and guardians in this setting found TF-CBT acceptable and worthwhile, helping inform future research and implementation efforts.