McSilver Institute is conducting the MFG study across New York State’s licensed child behavioral health clinic system to examine the short- and long-term impact of Multiple Family Groups (MFG) on urban youth with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder.
The study also examines family-level mediators of child outcomes, as well as clinic and provider level moderators of MFG implementation and integration.
Funder: National Institute of Mental Health
Principal Investigator: Mary M. McKay, PhD
Co-Investigator: Mary Acri, PhD
A pilot randomized controlled clinical trial is studying the effectiveness of the MCI intervention in 60 Black adolescents who have depression symptoms and attend grades 6-12 within New York City Department of Education Public Schools.
The intervention has been devised to address barriers to mental health treatment engagement, in youth, as well as their caregivers.
Funder: National Institute of Mental Health
Principal Investigator: Michael A. Lindsey, PhD
The MCI is a 1-2 session, evidence-based intervention designed to improve engagement, perceived relevance, and treatment satisfaction among depressed, Black adolescents. The program also uses tailored outreach strategies including innovative digital content such as a caregiver web page and the MCI Headway app.
The MCI is paired with Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A). IPT-A is a 12-15 session intervention that teaches communication and problem-solving strategies for interpersonal problems associated with adolescent depression. We previously performed a small pilot study that used the MCI as an add-on to the IPT-A. The results suggested that MCI has a positive impact on many aspects of change associated with treatment engagement and in the reduction of depression symptoms. We also noted grade improvement and reduced suspensions among the youth who completed the program.
This randomized control trial is currently recruiting Black adolescents in grades 6-12 who attend New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE) Public Schools and The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ).
McSilver Receives NIMH Grant to Study Engagement by Black Adolescents in Depression Treatment
The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded NYU Silver and NYU Steinhardt a five-year, $5.8 million R01 research grant to implement and study the effectiveness of a system of care for Black youth that combines suicide risk screening with an intervention to help connect at-risk youth to quality mental health services. The study will be implemented at the emergency departments of Harlem Hospital and Kings County Hospital in New York City.
NYU Silver Dean Michael A. Lindsey, Pamela A. Morris-Perez of NYU Steinhardt’s ARCADIA for Suicide Prevention, and Cheryl A. King of the University of Michigan Youth Depression and Suicide Prevention Program, are principal investigators of the project, based at the McSilver Institute and NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change (IHDSC). The urgent need for an effective suicide risk detection, treatment, and prevention strategy for Black youth that was highlighted in “Ring the Alarm: the Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America,” a 2019 report released by the Congressional Black Caucus’s Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. Dr. Lindsey led the working group of experts that supported the task force’s work.
Read more about this project at the NYU Silver School of Social Work.