Access to Mental Health and PSB

Access to Mental Health Initiative

MACA supports its 12 member CACs by providing resources, coordination, training, and advocacy at a broader level. In the context of an Access to Mental Health initiative, MACA plays a critical role in ensuring that CACs can effectively provide mental health services to the children and families they serve.

  1. Training and Resources for Mental Health Professionals:
    MACA coordinates training programs for mental health clinicians across the state, ensuring that they are well-knowledgeable in evidence-based, trauma-informed therapies, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Problematic Sexual Behaviors (PSB-CBT) and others. These trainings ensure that mental health services provided at local CACs are of the highest quality.
  2. Funding and Resource Allocation:
    MACA secures federal, state and private grants to support mental health initiatives and distribute funding to local CACs. This financial assistance helps CACs hire mental health professionals, support therapy costs for families, or invest in telehealth services.
  3. Statewide Advocacy for Mental Health:
    MACA advocates for policies that improve access to mental health services for children at the state level. They work with legislators to pass laws that secure funding for mental health programs and remove barriers to care. MACA holds awareness campaigns to increase public understanding of the importance of mental health services for children who have experienced trauma, helping reduce stigma and garner community support for CAC mental health initiatives.
  4. Collaboration and Network Building:
    MACA facilitates collaboration among member CACs and other statewide entities, such as healthcare providers, universities, and mental health organizations, fostering a network that improves access to mental health services. MACA organizes mental health roundtables or forums where CACs can share challenges and solutions.
  5. Service Navigation:
    Service Navigation offers assisted mental health referrals and service linkage primarily for children under 14 years old exhibiting problematic sexual behaviors across the state. MA PSB clinicians are being trained as trainers in the learning collaborative. This will allow MACA to develop a self-sustainable learning collaborative training model for MA.

Problematic Sexual Behaviors (PSB)

When a child’s sexual behaviors go beyond what is typical for their age and development, they’re exhibiting problematic sexual behavior (PSB).

Our  Children Advocacy Centers (CACs) and the National Children’s Alliance collected data revealing that:

  • Annually, Massachusetts has 1,800 PSB cases1
  • Roughly 400 of cases seen at CACs include under children 18 acting out sexually against another child, and
  • Approximately a quarter of sexual assaults are juvenile to juvenile scenarios.2

Children with PSB may pose a risk to the safety and well-being of themselves or others. Common factors for children displaying PSBs include physical abuse, bullying, and witnessing domestic violence or violence in their community. Based on most recent research and evaluation, we now know that these children are in need of services and show great response to appropriate therapeutic interventions rather than a criminal justice response.

Ninety-eight percent of children and youth with PSBs who receive early and effective interventions don’t reoffend and instead grow into healthy adults3 4. These interventions involve cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is rooted in the idea that how you think, feel, and act is all interconnected, and that you can manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.5

How MACA is Helping

In July 2020, we started a new pilot program leading statewide awareness and interventions for children showing PSBs. This includes conferences, in-person and virtual trainings, on-site technical assistance, and one-to-one support.

PSB-CBT is evidence-based and highly effective for children ages 7-12 with PSBs and their caregivers. It can eliminate PSBs, encourage prosocial behavior, and enhance parenting skills.

Since then, we have trained 106 clinicians in PSB-CBT and have educated thousands of mental health professionals, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and community members on PSB and the services available. 

We are continuing to expand on our work with the latest trainings, addressing multiple topics surrounding PSB, including dispelling common myths, improving assessments, and implementing trauma-focused CBT with trauma-related PSB.

1. https://machildrensalliance.org/our-cacs/
2. https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/psb
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18408211/
4. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1077559508315353
5. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/overview/