Can multiple mental health concerns be treated with a single intervention?

July 21, 2025

The results from a Children’s Health Policy Centre systematic review suggest that some children experiencing multiple mental health concerns can be treated using a single intervention. The review looked at three different treatments — Brief Behavioral Therapy, Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT) and Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT). The most successful intervention, RRFT, reduced PTSD and substance use symptoms. MDFT also reduced substance use and criminal offending, according to one evaluation, although two other evaluations found benefits for behaviour but not substance use relative to comparison treatments. And while Brief Behavioral Therapy reduced anxiety symptoms and improved overall functioning, it did not outperform treatment-as-usual for depressive symptoms. For more information, see Vol. 17, No. 3 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.