Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The goal of this trial is to identify the most effective ways for schools to deliver RAP Club, a universal school-based mental health intervention. RAP Club is an evidence-based group program designed to help 8th grade students manage stress, regulate emotions, and make healthy decisions. This study investigates two factors related to program implementation: type of program facilitator (teacher vs. school-based clinician) and level of facilitator supervision (standard vs. enhanced). The investigators will test four conditions that represent all combinations of these two factors. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Which combination of facilitator type and supervision level is most effective for improving student mental health? * How much does each of the four conditions cost, and how cost-effective, practical, and acceptable is each? The investigators will work with 32 public schools. Each school will deliver two RAP Club groups with approximately 15 students per group. One group will be led by a school clinician and the other by a teacher. One of these facilitators will be randomized to receive weekly group supervision and the other to receive enhanced supervision, which also includes observation and coaching. The investigators will collect survey data on student mental health at baseline, after RAP Club, at 4-month follow-up, and at 12-month follow up when students are in 9th grade. The investigators will also collect academic data, program delivery data (e.g., attendance), and feedback from students, facilitators, and principals.
Inclusion Criteria: Students: * Eighth-grade students enrolled in a participating Baltimore City Public School who are not in a self-contained special education classroom School Leaders: * Principals or vice principals from participating schools RAP Club Facilitators: * School-based mental health providers or school staff members who deliver RAP Club at a participating school Exclusion Criteria: * Students in self-contained special education classrooms are not eligible for participation because RAP Club has not been tailored to students in self-contained special education learning need…
RAP Club is a 12-session universal group intervention to promote mental health among 8th graders. It is delivered twice weekly over six weeks during the school day. Sessions include mindfulness practices and skills training in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, communication, and problem-solving. School-based mental health providers will be trained to deliver the program.
RAP Club is a 12-session universal group intervention to promote mental health among 8th graders. It is delivered twice weekly over six weeks during the school day. Sessions include mindfulness practices and skills training in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, communication, and problem-solving. Teachers and school staff members without specialized mental health training will be trained to deliver the program.
RAP Club facilitators receive weekly virtual group supervision.
RAP Club facilitators receive weekly virtual group supervision plus in-person observation and coaching once per week (i.e., at 6 of the 12 intervention sessions).