The Child CAB Lab is dedicated to expanding access to mental health services and establishing the evidence base for interventions to meet the psychosocial needs of youth.

The primary focus of the Lab's work is to determine the effectiveness of an intervention for children with deficits in social skills and self-regulation. In collaboration with Mary Alvord, PhD, this project investigates the effectiveness of the Resilience Builder Program® (RBP), a manualized resilience-based intervention for children with difficulties in social competence and self-regulation. The lab is now conducting pilot studies of an adaptation of the RBP, the Resilience Builder Program®-Universal (RBP-U), which is designed to be implemented by teachers in their entire classroom as a Tier-I universal intervention using an online platform of therapeutic materials. Our efforts focus on expanding mental health services to children from economically marginalized communities.

The Lab is also directing the CatholicU Autism Spectrum Program (CASP). This project aims to expand access to services for students at CUA with autism. The main components of CASP are a group intervention that aims to improve social and academic functioning, a peer-mentor support program, and a faculty workshop and lecture series.

In addition to these two primary projects, the Lab is undertaking the following intervention projects, all unified in their focus on expanding mental health services:

• An Episodic Future Thinking intervention to increase goal-focused motivation to reduce risky behavior in individuals with ADHD symptoms.

• A single-session online behavioral activation intervention for youth with depressive symptoms.

• A summer camp intervention for children with Selective Mutism.

Although diverse in the populations they target, these programs share the goal of expanding access to mental health services to populations that frequently face barriers to obtaining intervention care.