DESCRIPTION (provided by candidate): This is a request for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23). The candidate is a clinical child and adolescent psychologist whose long-term goal is to develop family-focused interventions to optimize treatment outcomes for youth with pediatric OCD and related disorders. Her more immediate career objective is to launch an independent patient-oriented research career by gaining specific training in developing standardized family-based interventions;clinical intervention trial design and implementation;and quantitative methods for assessing developmental processes and mechanisms of change in clinical trials. To accomplish these goals, the candidate's career development plan will consist of select coursework and tutorials as well as mentorship in the following areas: (1) Treatment development for family-focused interventions;(2) Clinical intervention trial design and implementation;and (3) Quantitative methods for analyzing longitudinal intervention data. Training in these three areas will facilitate the following specific research aims: (1) To refine treatment concepts and develop a formal manual for the Positive Family Interaction Therapy (PFIT) program;(2) To conduct an open case series using the PFIT manual;(3) To implement a small controlled trial of the PFIT intervention;(4) To practice the timing and assessment of putative family factors that serve as mechanisms of change in the treatment of pediatric OCD. RELEVANCE: Pediatric OCD is a pervasive, chronic, and highly impairing illness. Although cognitive behavioral and pharmacological therapies have proven efficacious, a large proportion of youth fail to respond to these treatments. Given this, the development of evidence-based treatments tailored to the needs of treatment refractory cases is a clear public health priority.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter