A psychoeducational program for children with ADHD or depression and their families: results from the CMAP feasibility study.

For children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional disorders and their families, education about their disorders and the treatments is an essential component of a comprehensive approach to their care. Education can encourage active participation in treatment, enhance adherence to treatment regimens, and provide patients and families with important coping skills. Thus, the Children's Medication Algorithm Project (CMAP) incorporated a psychoeducational program into the medication algorithm created to improve treatment of children with ADHD and/or depression in the Texas public mental health sector.

A feasibility study of the childhood depression medication algorithm: the Texas Children's Medication Algorithm Project (CMAP).

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and impact on clinical response and function associated with the use of an algorithm-driven disease management program (ALGO) for children and adolescents treated for depression with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in community mental health centers.

Method: Interventions included (1). medication algorithms, (2).

A feasibility study of the children's medication algorithm project (CMAP) algorithm for the treatment of ADHD.

Objective: To determine whether an algorithm for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be implemented in a community mental health center.

Method: Fifty child and adolescent patients at Texas community mental health centers who met criteria for ADHD were treated according to an algorithm-based disease management program for ADHD. Psychiatrists were trained in the use of the algorithm, and each subject underwent a baseline assessment consisting of a structured interview and standardized rating scales.