Behavioral and Affective Skills in Coping (BASIC) Open Trial

The investigators seek to develop a treatment protocol that integrates five core
intervention principles that are common to evidence-based treatments for youth depression,
anxiety, and disruptive behavior problems. The protocol will be designed for implementation
in everyday community practice settings by practitioners. Because many empirically
supported treatments for youth disorders address only one area of impairment, they may not
be an ideal fit to community clinics, where (a) most practitioners treat an array of
disorders rather than specializing in just one, (b) most referred youths present with
multiple disorders, and (c) priority problems and treatment needs may shift for many youths
during an episode of care. Moreover, because many evidence-based treatments have been
developed in research settings, they may not be designed in ways that are ideal for
front-line therapists in community settings. The investigators hope to reduce the difficulty
of transporting treatments into community practice by incorporating the perspectives of
community practitioners in the development and design of the protocol. By incorporating the
feedback of expert treatment developers, the investigators hope to ensure that BASIC is not
only appealing to users but also consistent with what has been learned through treatment
research over the years. Finally, the trial will provide preliminary evidence on whether
this brief "first course" in evidence-based treatment is beneficial for youths with
depression, anxiety, and disruptive behavior problems—three clusters that account for a
large percentage of youth referrals.

Inclusion Criteria:

- 8-15 year-old youth

- The youth will meet diagnostic criteria for one or more target disorders in the broad
areas of anxiety (including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety
Disorder, Social Phobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Specific Phobia, Panic
Disorder, Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Adjustment Disorder with
Anxiety), depression (including Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Minor
Depression, Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Adjustment Disorder with
Depressed Mood), and conduct (Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder,
Disruptive Behavior Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Adjustment Disorder with
Disturbance of Conduct).

Exclusion Criteria:

- Youth with primary ADHD

- Youth with developmental disorders

- Youth with symptoms of a thought disorder including delusions and hallucinations