Research

We partner with academic and healthcare institutions, concentrating on the study of various child and adolescent behavioral health disorders. Projects are typically funded with support from state and federal agencies. Recently completed research includes:

Comparing the effectiveness of standard counseling with that of an evidenced based practice
In 2001, Applewood began a study, funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health, to compare outcomes for children who received “treatment as usual” to those who participate in an evidence-based practice in a community mental health setting. The target population was youth ages 3 to 9 with oppositional defiant and related disorders. The study reveals that using an evidenced-based practice model in its entirety achieved “high and consistent levels of treatment integrity.” Click here for the study results.

Developing shorter screening measures to accurately identify bipolar disorder in youth
This study, funded in 2004 with a $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, is a collaborative among Case Western Reserve University, Applewood Centers, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The project seeks to develop and validate shorter screening measures to accurately identify bipolar disorder in youth. To date, the study includes the largest number of African American families to participate in any study of mood disorder in youth, and it is providing extremely valuable information about how better to assess the mental health needs of families from diverse backgrounds.