NCJ Number
210923
Journal
Social Work in Mental Health Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: 2005 Pages: 305-317
Date Published
2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Clinicians at New York City's Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center (AHC) describe their experience as participants in a collaborative clinical data-mining project intended to promote staff reflection and improve services to adolescents seeking mental health services at AHC.
Abstract
The 12 AHC clinicians whose experiences are described in this article were integrally involved in conducting and writing a series of studies that "mined" the clinical information obtained from a self-report questionnaire ("Adquest") completed by adolescents coming to AHC services. This labor-intensive, year-long project placed clinicians in the unfamiliar roles of project management, overseeing the work of clinical peers, establishing reasonable expectations of one another regarding deadlines, and identifying when and where help might be needed. Despite initial fears, clinicians found that these challenges were offset by skills they already possessed, such as expert knowledge of the client and the challenges to be faced in engaging adolescents in psychotherapy. On the other hand, there were challenges to be faced due to their unfamiliarity with research methodology. This challenge was met through the guidance, support, and technical help they received from consultants throughout the project. Overall, the clinicians were enthused about their project experiences, since they expanded their knowledge and skills and had the opportunity to reflect on their work and sharpen their assessment and engagement skills. Pointers are provided for clinicians interested in practice research. 27 references