A Preliminary Evaluation: Demographic and Clinical Profiles and Changes in Functioning in Children Receiving Psychosocial Rehabilitation

The present study is the first to examine the demographic and clinical profiles at intake of children with emotional disturbances who received Child Psychosocial Rehabilitation (CPSR), a relatively new treatment for children suffering with emotional disturbance(ED). Fifty-three children ranging in age from 4 to 18 years received CPSR from a for-profit outpatient child and adolescent mental health clinic located in southwestern Idaho for a minimum of six months. The children's demographic and clinical profiles were examined. In addition, the relationship between the relative change in psychological, emotional, and behavioral functioning as measured by CAFAS (Hodges, 1989, 1994) and PECFAS (Hodges, 1994) scores and the children's age, gender, ethnicity, current living arrangement, type of mental health diagnosis, and severity of impairment at intake were evaluated. Significant improvement in the children's overall functioning was found after six months of treatment. No significant between-group differences were found for gender, age, ethnicity, living situation, diagnosis, number of diagnoses, and overall impairment at intake.