Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit Selecting and Implementing Complementary Evidence-Based Practices for Youth Impacted by Trauma Q U A L I T Y C A R E I N I T I AT I V E
SEPTEMBER 2026 Evidence-Based Policymaking and Advocacy
bakercenter.org
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL AFFILIATE
INTRODUCTION
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Overview This toolkit is designed to help agencies select evidence-based practices (EBPs) that complement their trauma-focused treatments so youth exposed to trauma have access to services that best fit their needs. This brief, user-friendly resource is designed for senior leadership at mental health organizations. It walks through the key steps of identifying and implementing complementary EBPs, including: • Assessing Your Clinic’s Needs • Identifying EBPs • A Case Example
• Putting New EBPs into Practice • Other Helpful Resources
The Case For Complementary Trauma-Informed Practices Youth exposed to trauma can have a range of mental and behavioral needs beyond traumatic stress. Research shows that trauma exposure is also associated with depression, anxiety, and disruptive behavior disorders in children and adolescents.1
An estimated 60% of youth who develop symptoms of PTSD have comorbid diagnoses.2
Clinics that offer only trauma-focused treatments may have fewer options for matching youth to the care that best addresses their unique needs. Offering a range of complementary evidence-based practices (EBPs) gives clinics greater flexibility to match treatment to each youth’s presenting concerns. Better meeting these needs not only helps youth and families directly, but also leads to organizational benefits, including: Improved staff retention by helping clinicians feel more effective in their work3 Better outcomes for youth by matching treatment to their most important needs4 Shorter treatment duration when clients are assigned to the most appropriate EBP 5 Better use of limited resources by investing in treatments that can address a broader range of client needs 6
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Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
Assessing Your Clinic’s Needs Start by understanding your clinic’s needs. Before selecting an EBP to complement your trauma services, consider the needs of the youth you serve and the skills and training your clinicians already have. Needs assessments can be done at different levels of intensity depending on your organization’s time and resources. Some of the most basic information to collect could include:
Before considering additional EBPs for youth impacted by trauma, make sure your clinicians have met NCTSN’s recommended prerequisite clinical competencies. If these clinical competencies have not been met, consider starting with foundational training before exploring new EBPs.
Your existing client data (for example, from your electronic health record) • What are the most common presenting problems or diagnoses? • Do needs differ by age or other groups you serve?
Your clinicians’ report • What symptoms and conditions are clinicians seeing in addition to post-traumatic stress? • What symptoms are clinicians finding most challenging to treat?
Next, assess the expertise your team already has: • Create a chart of which clinicians have training and/or certification in different EBPs. Remember to include supervising clinicians and different clinic sites, if applicable. • Ask clinicians what additional training would be useful. Survey or talk with clinicians about where they see gaps in their current skills and what additional training would help them better meet the needs of the youth they serve. For information on how to conduct a more in-depth needs assessment, see the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse’s resource Selecting and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices.
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Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
Identifying EBPs Once you understand client and clinician needs, the next step is to find EBPs that meet these needs. Start by reviewing existing interventions. The following resources can help you find EBPs with research support.
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC): A searchable database of programs that can be used by professionals that serve children and families involved with the child welfare system. Each program is given a scientific rating based on level of empirical evidence.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network: A database of interventions developed and used by members of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network as a means of raising the standard of care and increasing access to services for children and families who most need them.
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development: A comprehensive registry of scientifically proven and scalable interventions that prevent or reduce the likelihood of antisocial behavior and promote a healthy course of youth development.
Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse: A database of programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements.
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Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
A CASE EXAMPLE:
Implementing the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children (MATCH) as a Complementary EBP One example of an organization that decided to add a single EBP to their service array is Compass and Courage Children’s Center.* Compass and Courage is a children’s advocacy center offering trauma-focused treatments including Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Child-Parent Psychotherapy. Their team of 6 clinicians includes 2 rotating trainees from a local social work program and 4 licensed clinicians. Compass and Courage serves children from birth to age 21. In addition to experiencing traumatic stress symptoms, children served by Compass and Courage also struggle with defiant and disruptive behavior, low mood, irritability, withdrawal, family conflict, worry about the future, and school refusal. Clinicians report that they struggle when anxious, depressive, and
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Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
behavioral symptoms are the primary concern, but feel confident treating post-traumatic stress symptoms. Clinicians are comfortable with cognitive behavioral and attachment-based interventions. Their senior leader has filled out the worksheet on the next page comparing the Modular Approach to Treatment for Children (MATCH), Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A), and Multisystemic Therapy (MST). She has chosen MATCH as a good fit for rounding out their service array because it addresses the largest age range, targets the widest range of problems, and has a withinagency trainer model that will help them continuously train rotating trainees. *Fictitious organization
FIT Domains
Modular Approach to Therapy for Children (MATCH)
Fit
Clinical target area(s)
Anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, disruptive behavior
● Yes
Client age range
6-17
Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A)
Fit
Depression
● Yes
No
● Yes
English, German, French, Spanish (caregiver handouts only)
● Yes
Frequency of sessions
Weekly
● Yes
No
Fit
● Yes
(partial)
Substance abuse, antisocial or delinquent behavior
(partial)
● Yes
12-18
● Yes
No
12-18
No
Language(s) available
Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
No
No
(partial)
(partial)
English, Japanese, Mandarin
● Yes
Weekly
● Yes
No
No
No
No
English, Spanish, Norwegian
● Yes
Minimum weekly, up to daily, plus on-call availability
Yes
No
● No clinicians not availabile to meet clients more than twice per week
● Yes
Average duration of treatment
6 months
Caregiver involvement
Yes
Theoretical orientation
Cognitive behavioral
● Yes
Minimum provider qualifications
Enrolled in or completed a clinically oriented behavioral health degree, licensure not required
● Yes
3-4 months
No
● Yes
Other:
4 months
No
Not required
No
● Yes
Interpersonal theory
● Yes
No
Students can be trained but not certified; certification requires Master’s degree, licenseeligible within 2 years
● Yes No
Yes
Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
● Yes
No
Family systems theory
● Yes
Master’s level therapist
● Yes
No
No (partial - interns may not quality)
Yes
Yes
No
No
Teams of 2-4 therapists and a supervisor Max caseload of 6 families
6
● Yes No
No
No
No
● Yes
Yes No
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Domains
Modular Approach to Therapy for Children (MATCH)
Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A)
Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
Training activities
5-day didactic training 11-18 consultation calls
16 hours of total IPT training (8 IPT-A focused)
5-day orientation
Supervision under accredited supervisor required for certification
Quarterly booster training
$150-$600 per clinician for basic training
$14,500 plus travel for up to 3 teams
Training costs
$3,400 to $3,650 per clinician for workshop and consultation
Weekly 1.5-hour consultation Ongoing technical assistance
$900-$1200+ for accredited supervision
Resource requirements
None
None
Laptops and cellphones for all staff
Supervision needs
11-18 consultation call requirement
3 cases supervised by IPT-A trained supervisor; 8 hours of supervision per case
MST supervisor conducts weekly on-site team supervision, facilitates weekly MST phone consult, and is available as needed
Level of evidence
Level 1: Well-supported by research evidence (CEBC)
Level 3: Promising research evidence (CEBC)
Level 1: Well-supported by research evidence (CEBC)
Listed on NCTSN as traumainformed intervention
Promising: Title-IV Clearinghouse
Certified Model Program (Blueprints)
Sustainability (e.g., trainthe-trainer, re-certification requirements)
Train-the-trainer option Recertification every 3 years
IPT supervisor and instructor training options
To maintain MST license, must continually enroll clients and participate in ongoing quarterly booster trainings and technical assistance
Ongoing costs (e.g., certification fees, access to materials)
$250 certification fee
Other:
Contact:
Training Organizations:
Contact:
• Baker Center for Children and Families: QCI@bakercenter.org
• IPT Institute
Tom Pietkiewicz
• International Society of Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Website: https://www.mstservices.com/ resources-training
• Anna Freud
Email: tom.pietkiewicz@mstservices.com
No train-the-trainer $2,950 license fee per team per agency Mileage costs for in-home/ communitybased services Ongoing booster training: $37,200 for a single team, plus $6000/year required quality assurance services
• PracticeWise, LLC: support@practicewise.com
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$250 certification fee
Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
EBP Exploration Worksheet Pick a few EBPs to explore. Complete the worksheet below to see which is the best fit for your organization. FIT Domains
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[EBP #1]
[EBP #2]
Fit
[EBP #3]
Fit
Fit
Clinical target area(s)
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Client age range
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Language(s) available
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Frequency of sessions
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Average duration of treatment
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Caregiver involvement
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Theoretical orientation
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Minimum provider qualifications
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Other:
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Domains
[EBP #1]
Training activities
Training costs
Resource requirements
Supervision needs
Level of evidence
Sustainability (e.g., train-thetrainer, re-certification requirements)
Ongoing costs (e.g., certification fees, access to materials) Other:
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Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
[EBP #2]
[EBP #3]
Putting New EBPs Into Practice Once you have selected a new EBP to bring to your clinic, the next step is planning how to put it into practice. The following steps can guide successful implementation.
STEP 1
Choose a small pilot team • Select one motivated team (e.g., self-selecting team of 4–6 clinicians) rather than rolling out agency-wide to start. • Identify 1–2 clinicians or supervisors who are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the intervention and elevate them to take on a leadership role in the pilot. • Define what would make a successful pilot. Be concrete and measurable. Consider outcome and process metrics. For example: Outcome metrics
Process metrics
• ≥60% of cases complete treatment
• Session attendance rate ≥75%,
• 30% reduction in symptom scores (e.g., PHQ-9)
• Clinician fidelity to core components (via checklist or supervision review)
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STEP 2
Build buy-in and excitement Leadership Frame the implementation of this EBP in terms leadership cares about: clinical outcomes, staff retention, cost effectiveness, and sustainability. • For example, show how shortened treatment duration reduces waitlist time or how improved clinical outcomes strengthen future grant competitiveness.
Supervisors Position supervisors as the champions of the intervention. Give them tools to reinforce the model in supervision (e.g., structured case review templates, fidelity prompts).
Clinicians Focus on what makes their job easier and how the EBP can help them support the families they work with. • For example, clinicians may be interested in tools for improving their workflow: “This intervention can give you worksheets and activities for session and tools for treatment planning.” • Or, for example, clinicians may be motivated by the direct impact of the EBP on families: “This intervention has been shown to help kids get better faster than other interventions.” 11 Evidence-Based Practice Integration Toolkit
STEP 3
Create a training and consultation plan Financial considerations Plan for the full cost of implementation, not just the initial training. Consider consultation, supervision, clinician time, materials, certification, and other ongoing costs. Funding sources to consider include: • Existing public funds (e.g., school staff development training funds, state child welfare funding) • State or local general funds (e.g., Medicaid) • Federal funds (e.g., Medicaid, Community Mental Health Service Block Grants, Title IV-B, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Discretionary Grants) • Foundation grants and public-private partnerships
Initial EBP training Protect time for clinicians to participate in training and plan for how their caseloads will be covered.
Ongoing case consultation • If the training model includes case consultation requirements, work with clinicians to protect this time. • If the model does not include case consultation, consider setting up biweekly or monthly meetings where clinicians can discuss their cases and ask questions about use of the EBP with their clients.
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STEP 4
Use data to track whether it is working Use of the EBP Find a way to track how many people are getting the new EBP. Do your numbers show the EBP helps to close the gap for treatment needs? For example: 80% of your families receive TF-CBT. Does MATCH close the 20% gap in evidence-based care for your families?
Symptom outcomes Is the EBP showing improved outcomes on the symptoms and conditions you hoped it would treat?
Dropout rates Are families dropping out more quickly with this new EBP? Or are families more likely to complete treatment?
Clinician satisfaction Are your clinicians feeling supported in learning the new model? Is the EBP helping them feel empowered and effective in their work, or in expanding the population they are comfortable serving?
Clinician retention Are clinicians staying employed longer at the agency?
Cost effectiveness Is treatment duration shorter? Are more families getting enrolled in treatment?
Opportunities for Improvement: Use the above data points to identify strengths and challenges in your pilot implementation. When you identify opportunities for improvement, work as a team to identify goals, plan a strategy that could help, collect information on whether it is working, and then revisit the data.
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STEP 5
Make it sustainable Define sustainability Decide what long-term use looks like. What is your goal for the spread and scale-up of the EBP? Will all clinicians in your clinic get trained in this EBP?
Integrate the EBP into supervision structures. Make the EBP part of “how supervision is done.” For example: Require discussion of fidelity elements and outcome data in every case review.
Align with funding and billing realities. Ensure the model fits how services are reimbursed. For example: Map components to billable codes or align with Medicaid documentation requirements.
Continue building internal champions. Find ways to maintain your EBP champions in their leadership role. For example: Have champions co-lead consultations or mentor new staff.
Use data to decide whether to expand. Package outcomes into simple, compelling visuals. For example: “Pilot team reduced symptoms by 35% and improved completion by 20%”— then use that to expand services or secure funding.
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Other Helpful Resources These additional resources provide more information on how to effectively and sustainably implement EBPs:
CEBC Guide to Selecting and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices: This free-to-download guide provides practical information and tools that agencies can use to evaluate their needs, make decisions about which new programs, if any, to add, and plan for implementation and sustainability. Checklist for Agencies Choosing a Trauma-Informed Intervention or Practice as Part of a Grant Application: This checklist is intended for use by a child and family service agency when applying for a grant. It helps support the selection, implementation, and sustainability-planning of a traumaspecific intervention or practice. The Hexagon: An Exploration Tool: This tool helps organizations evaluate the fit and feasibility of implementing programs or practices in a given context. Implementing the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children (MATCH-ADTC) within a Learning Collaborative: This case study describes the implementation of MATCH as a complementary EBP within Community Treatment and Service Centers for children and families impacted by trauma.
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5. Chorpita, B. F., Daleiden, E. L., Park, A. L., Ward, A. M., Levy, M. C., Cromley, T., ... & Krull, J. L. (2017). Child STEPs in California: A cluster randomized effectiveness trial comparing modular treatment with community implemented treatment for youth with anxiety, depression, conduct problems, or traumatic stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(1), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000133 6. Okamura, K. H., Benjamin Wolk, C. L., Kang-Yi, C. D., Stewart, R., Rubin, R. M., Weaver, S., ... & Mandell, D. S. (2018). The price per prospective consumer of providing therapist training and consultation in seven evidencebased treatments within a large public behavioral health system: An example cost-analysis metric. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpubh.2017.00356
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