by the program must be clearly specified, along
with its prevalence, incidence, and costs to society.
Next, risk and protective factors relevant to the
problem or disorder are identified, and the existing
research on the prevention or treatment of the
condition is reviewed. Third, pilot studies to evalu-
ate the efficacy of the planned intervention are
designed and conducted. The fourth step involves
planning and carrying out large-scale trials of the
intervention program. Finally, assuming that thesupervision to graduate students in research-supported
treatments, working with community clinicians on the
implementation and evaluation of research-supported
treatments, and consulting about mental health policy.
Like other academic psychologists, a big part of my work
is disseminating my research findings through journal
articles and conference presentations. However, since my
research is so focused on the application of science within
practice settings, I also spend a good deal of my time
disseminating research findings, my own as well as those
of the larger research community, to a wide variety of
public and professional audiences (e.g., groups of private
clinicians, school counselors, community mental health
centers, state agencies).What are your particular areas of expertise or interest?
My research broadly falls under the domain of transla-
tional science, the goal of which is to speed the progres-
sion from scientific discovery to widespread application
of scientific findings in clinics and communities. Within
this broad umbrella, I have two main areas of expertise.
The first is child mental health services and interventions
research—here, I study treatment processes and out-
comes within routine, community-based mental health
service settings in order to identify key components of
effective treatments and important emotional, behav-
ioral, and cognitive changes that children and/or families
go through in order to improve. My second area of
expertise is the dissemination and implementation of
research-supported treatment practices—here, I study
strategies, such as clinician training and feedback sys-
tems, for improving the application of research-
supported assessment and treatment practices within
routine community mental health services.What are some future trends you see in community
mental health services for children and youth?
The explicit focus on strengthening the connection
between science and practice in community mental
health services is a notable trend. We are seeing positive
changes both in how we conduct research and in how
community mental health providers serve children andfamilies. Treatment developers are beginning to involve
community providers in the research process and design
more representative studies to test and adapt new
treatments under conditions that more closely approxi-
mate routine community-based practice. Among com-
munity mental health service providers, we are also
seeing a greater focus on data-based decision making
and the importance of assessing treatment processes
and outcomes to ensure the quality of care provided.
Finally, both scientists and practitioners are
beginning to tackle the wide array of implementation
challenges inherent in any attempt to introduce and
sustain new practices across diverse communities and
service settings. Implementation science is a relatively
new area of multidisciplinary research focused on
developing strategies to support the implementation
of research-supported treatments in practice settings.
As we develop more effective methods for supporting
and sustaining a close linkage between science and
practice, we may begin to achieve access to effective
treatment for every child and family in need.Kristin HawleyDr. Kristin HawleyCOMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY 469