Integrated Prevention and Collaborative Care for Youth Mental Health

Mental health problems affect 10-20% of children and adolescents worldwide, with half of affected youth experiencing problems by the age of 14. Despite the early onset of mental health problems, evidence-based prevention and early intervention programs remain scarce. If left untreated, early-onset mental health problems can progress to become severe or chronic conditions, and incur significant medical and societal costs. The current project proposes an integrated screening and intervention model that was developed involving active youth, family and community engagement. This project, known as Inter-Venture, focuses on reducing barriers to youth mental health care and promoting early screening and intervention by fostering collaboration between school and community-based services providers. The Inter-Venture project is being conducted in the Montreal area (Canada), and consists of three intervention modalities. Namely, 1) systematic school-based screening and personality-targeted interventions for students most at risk of mental health problems and substance misuse (the Preventure program); 2) a parent program designed to strengthen parenting skills and to improve the management of child behavior problems (Cope/EQUIPE program); 3) integrated services provided by a multidisciplinary team of professionals (referred to as Inter-Action) for youth with significant symptoms of mental health problems, substance misuse and/or psychosocial difficulties. The intervention model involves knowledge transfer to boost capacity-building and improve the provision and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in community settings. The primary goal of the Inter-Venture trial is to assess the potential effect of the school-based targeted interventions and collaborative care in the prevention, early detection and reduction of mental health problems, substance misuse and psychosocial difficulties among young people. The secondary goal is to assess the effect of interventions on sc