A service evaluation of ‘ IDEAS ’ – Modular treatment for youth with complex emotional needs

Objectives There is a crucial need for an evidence‐based intervention for young people presenting with moderate complex emotional needs (CEN). UK CEN care has been described as variable and poor quality, with its improvement a UK policy priority. Briefer‐versions of full‐programme therapy packages utilizing stepped‐care models offer a clear and contained pathway for this population, though their current availability in services is scarce. This service evaluation aims to evaluate the efficacy of ‘IDEAS’ as a piloted brief psychological intervention for young people aged 16–25 presenting with moderate CEN. Method A pre‐test/post‐test design was used to explore clinical outcomes for participants and services via paired sample t ‐tests, mixed‐model ANOVAS and frequency statistics. Results Exploratory pre/post‐intervention analyses revealed significant reductions in mean scores for the severity of borderline personality disorder symptoms ( d = .83), emotion regulation ( d = 1.15) and overall wellbeing (reflecting improvement; d = .97) and increases in mean scores for quality of life ( d = −.67), including level of satisfaction in one's quality of life and of therapeutic treatment received ( d = −.65). These outcomes were maintained at 3‐month follow‐up, were little influenced by clinician training and supported readiness for discharge post‐intervention for more (68.65%) participants. Conclusions The current evaluation provides preliminary evidence that IDEAS may offer a feasible, lower‐cost alternative to full‐programme treatment packages, with benefits for young people, services and Trusts. Given this evaluation of IDEAS being from a small, uncontrolled pilot, the findings are exploratory. Further evaluation is therefore warranted upon its larger‐scale implementation.