THE COST OF CHILD-BEHAVIOR THERAPY - THE FIRST STEP TO DEMONSTRATING COST-EFFECTIVENESS

There has been extensive debate over the last three decades about whic h 1 professional groups should receive government-funded rebates in th e mental health field. Cognitive-behaviour therapists appear to be in the best position to demonstrate clinical efficacy, but have failed to demonstrate: cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behaviour therapy. There is a need to demonstrate the cost of behaviour therapy as the first s tep in determining the cost-effectiveness of behaviour therapy compare d to the traditional (medical-based) interventions. Using archival dat a from a university-based psychology clinic specialising,a in cognitiv e-behavioural interventions with child and adolescent problems, the pr esent research determined the cost of successful treatment programs wi th the clinic's major referral areas: nocturnal enuresis, behaviour ma nagement, and education-based problems. Analysing 77 cases, it was fou nd that there were significant between group differences in the number and total duration of Face-to-face interviews, in the number of other contacts between therapist and client, ill total therapist time, and in the estimated average cost of cases. There emerged different treatm ent patterns for each clinical problem, and these were reflected in co sting. A number of research and methodological issues are explored. Im plications for future research on cost-effectiveness and the subsequen t collection of comparative data across clinics and a variety of clini cal problem areas are discussed.