Raghavan R, Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Welch RR, et al. Cost-effectiveness of train-the-trainer versus expert consultation training models for implementing interpersonal psychotherapy in college mental health settings: evidence from a national cluster randomized trial. Implement Sci. 2024;19(1):55. doi:10.1186/s13012-024-01388-2
This cost-effectiveness study compared two implementation strategies designed to train therapists to deliver interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) to college students. The head-to-head comparison in efficacy and cost was conducted across twenty-four colleges. Sixty therapists were assigned to a train-the-trainer (TTT) implementation strategy and fifty-five were assigned to the expert consultation implementation condition. In the TTT approach, one therapist was trained to deliver IPT to college students and continued to receive support throughout the study. This trained therapist (trainer) then trained other therapists in the implementation setting and acted as a champion for the intervention, in this case, IPT. In the expert consultation condition, therapists participated in a 2-day training workshop identical to how the trainer in the TTT arm was trained. They were also allowed monthly one-hour consultation phone calls to support the IPT implementation. While the upfront costs of the TTT implementation strategy were higher than the expert consultation strategy, analyses revealed that the TTT model was less expensive for improving therapist competence in IPT. Additionally, the TTT model produced better maintenance of the training effects. Together the data suggest that implementing evidence-based psychotherapy for college students can be accomplished using a TTT model. The model yields a quality improvement expected to reduce long-term costs, a potential avenue of future research.