Shared Decision-Making in Youth Mental Health Care: Using the Evidence to Plan Treatments Collaboratively

• Published in: Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 821 - 831
• Main Authors: Langer, David A., Jensen-Doss, Amanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 03.09.2018; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Clinical decision making; Collaboration; Consumers; Decision making; Decision Making - physiology; Evidence-Based Medicine - methods; Evidence-Based Medicine - standards; Families & family life; Female; Group decision making; Health planning; Humans; Intersectoral Collaboration; Male; Mental health; Mental Health - standards; Mental health care; Mental health services; Neurodevelopmental Disorders - diagnosis; Neurodevelopmental Disorders - psychology; Neurodevelopmental Disorders - therapy; Planning; Psychosocial factors; Psychotherapy; Social Behavior; Treatment methods; Youth
• ISSN: 1537-4416; 1537-4424
• DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2016.1247358

The shared decision-making (SDM) model is one in which providers and consumers of health care come together as collaborators in determining the course of care. The model is especially relevant to youth mental health care, when planning a treatment frequently entails coordinating both youth and parent perspectives, preferences, and goals. The present article first provides the historical context of the SDM model and the rationale for increasing our field's use of SDM when planning psychosocial treatments for youth and families. Having established the potential utility of SDM, the article then discusses how to apply the SDM model to treatment planning for youth psychotherapy, proposing a set of steps consistent with the model and considerations when conducting SDM with youth and families.