The Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health (the Centre) and Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) have compiled some useful resources, including Evaluating and improving e-mental health services. They've created a guiding framework that includes:
In October 2020, they ran a webinar on the topic (embedded below) and the resources on the page include Policies, procedures and guidance: examples from Ontario agencies.
Following their October 2020 webinar summarizing the findings of the province-wide evaluation of their sector’s transition to virtual care, they ran a March 2021 webinar featuring panelists sharing three different approaches to the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of virtual care in child and youth mental health. This includes a developmental evaluation and two mixed-method evaluations looking at client and caregiver perceptions, in one case, and client and staff surveys in the other.
As organizations in Ontario’s community-based child and youth mental health sector continue to integrate virtual care options into their regular suite of services, many are excited by the opportunities presented by virtual group therapy. There are however several barriers that prevent widespread uptake, including limited research on implementation and effectiveness. This document summarizes the latest evidence on how to deliver virtual group therapy for children and young people with mental health challenges and how to deal with common challenges.
Download their Virtual Group Therapy evidence summary for child and youth mental health service providers.