Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 8 November 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills
Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education: Discussion (Resumed)
Ms Sarah Stockham:
EMHPs are trained in low-intensity interventions, which are based around the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT. The training includes behavioural activation, behavioural experiments and cognitive restructuring. As part of that, we have an organisation that provides us with routine outcome measures, which are done pre, post and during the intervention with our young people. We measure and report to our national team. We are looking at paired outcomes through the routine and outcome measures. A key measure is our revised anxiety and depression scale for children, which is used nationally and allows for comparison between interventions across the board. We also complete our own audits within the schools in which we are working. That is one of the interventions that the EMHPs do as part of their training. It is on that basis that we can help to work with a school community on where its gaps are and support it to meet those needs. The model is evidence based. That is part of the rationale. I hope that answers the Deputy's question.
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