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The Hexagon: An Exploration Tool
The Hexagon can be used as a planning tool to guide selection and evaluate potential programs and practice for use.
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Core Components
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) is a classroom-based group intervention for adolescents aged 14-18 years who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of depression and score in the mid-range of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS). The intervention is designed to reduce depressive symptomatology and stress by enhancing the coping skills of each adolescent. TKC is delivered by a team leader who is a psychiatric nurse in collaboration with the school nurse or guidance counsellor over 10 sessions each lasting 45 minutes. These sessions guide participants through a process to discover their distorted thinking patterns and to test their thinking against reality using suggested approaches. The programme focuses on behavioural techniques but also incorporates cognitive components to promote and maintain mental health in adolescents.
This manualised programme which includes a handbook and checklists, uses experiential exercises such as trust-fall, buddy assignments, role-playing situations from school and home, drawing exercise with the cognitive components utilising techniques such as externalisation of negative voices, reframing, establishing idiosyncratic meaning and cognitive rehearsal.
Sessions are delivered using lectures, group discussions, role playing, brainstorming, handouts, group projects, and practice of problem-solving skills. Session topics include:
1) Learning to trust
Fidelity
Fidelity of TKC is maintained through standardised webinar training, a group leader manual, implementation checklist and evaluation checklist.
Modifiable Components
TKC should be delivered as outlined in the group leader manual. Whilst the programme is typically classroom based it is adaptable to be used in different locations such a clinic or hospital in-patient setting. The TKC manual is available in English.
Support for Organisation / Practice
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) was developed by the University of Pittsburgh.
Implementation Support
Support can be obtained from the Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) team at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing.
Licence Requirements
A licence to deliver TKC is not required.
Start-up Costs
Start-up costs include training (two online webinars) at a cost of $1000 and purchase of the TKC manual costing $15.
Building Staff Competency
Qualifications Required
TKC group leaders must have a bachelor’s degree and 2 years’ experience working with adolescents.
Training Requirements
Training to become a TKC group leader is a requirement and is undertaken through two online webinars with a combined duration of 50 minutes, excluding break away time for practice exercises.
Supervision Requirements
Supervision of TKC group leaders is not a requirement.
Theory of Change
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) is underpinned by developmental, stress/coping and cognitive/behavioural theories and models adopting a didactic and cognitive-behavioural group model. The intervention is based on the logic that promotes increasing the use of coping and social support to decrease depressive symptoms.
Adolescents: 13 to 18 years - Rating: 4
Research Design & Number of Studies
The best evidence identified for adolescents in the 13-18 age range comes from a one Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) undertaken by the programme developer. This study population included adolescents with an average age of 16 (n=89).
Outcomes Achieved
Child Outcomes
• Significant improvement in a range of coping skills and decreased depressive symptomatology maintained at a year. (Puskar et al, 2003).
Parent Outcomes
• No parent outcomes were identified.
Key References
Puskar, K., Sereika, S. & Tusaie-Mumford, K. (2003). Effect of the Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) program on outcomes of depression and coping among rural adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 16(2), pp. 71-80.
Need
Comparable Population
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) is designed as a targeted programme for adolescents 14-18 years who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of depression, who score in the mid-range of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and who are experiencing stresses such as family relationships, school problems, and peer relationships.
Evidence of its effectiveness includes adolescents from rural high schools in the southwestern region of Pennsylvania with an average age of 16 years, who scored in the mid-range (60) of the RAD scale.
Is this comparable to the population you serve? Does your organisation have existing contacts with this population? Are you likely to receive enough referrals/demand for eligible adolescents with these problems to populate a recurring programme?
Desired Outcome
The goal of TKS is to reduce depressive symptomatology and stress by enhancing the coping skills of each adolescent. Research has demonstrated that TKC has significantly improved a range of coping skills and decreased depressive symptomatology.
Is reducing depressive symptomatology in adolescents a desired outcome for your service? Do you have other existing initiatives that would be supportive of addressing this need and achieving these outcomes?
Need Score
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Fit
Values
Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) values promoting good mental health and focuses on behavioural techniques incorporating cognitive components.
Does promoting and maintaining adolescent mental health using behavioural techniques and incorporating cognitive components align with the key values of your service?
Priorities
TKC aims to reduce depressive symptomatology and stress by enhancing the coping skills of adolescents using behavioural techniques that incorporate cognitive components to promote and maintain mental health.
Is delivering a school-based group intervention which aims to reduce adolescent depression a priority for your organisation?
Existing Initiatives
Does your service currently provide interventions to support adolescents in reducing depressive symptomatology and stress and improve their coping skills? Does your area have practitioners trained in delivering Teaching Kids to Cope? Do you have links with CAMHS, Adult Mental Health Services and Child Protection Services to refer onto if required?
Fit Score
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Capacity
Workforce
To deliver Teaching Kids to Cope (TKC) requires a trained group leader who has participated in both webinar training sessions delivered over 50 minutes excluding practice exercises.
Do you have enough practitioners available to commit to undertake training?
A psychiatric nurse in collaboration with the school nurse or guidance counsellor deliver the programme over 10 sessions each lasting 45 minutes.
Do you have enough practitioners available to commit to delivering the full extent of this programme?
Technology Support
To implement TKC requires access to technology that enables web access to participate in webinar training.
Do you have access to adequate technology to support practitioners to effectively undertake training online?
Administrative Support
Group leader preparation for each session is minimal and may require some printing and photocopying.
Do you have enough administrative capacity to meet these needs?
Financial Support
To deliver TKC requires a training fee of $1000 and the TKC manual at $15 per individual purchase.
Do you have the finances to purchase the training and resources?
Capacity Score
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