Implementing BEAM: A Scalable Digital Mental Health Program, for Families of Children Referred to Neurodevelopmental Services

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

The Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) Program: The BEAM program builds on mHealth best practices and evidence-based program design principles with the core objectives of improving caregiver mental health and supporting adaptive parenting among families of children with neurodevelopmental differences. Program content draws on transdiagnostic, emotion-focused approaches and third-wave Cognitive Behavioural Therapy principles, including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The intervention is delivered through a secure mobile application. BEAM consists of five core components: weekly parenting and mental health psychoeducational videos, weekly progress tracking, a moderated peer discussion forum, parent coaching, and skill-building exercises to reinforce strategies introduced in the video content. The program integrates mental health and parenting skills in a flexible, self-guided format intended to reduce barriers to access while supporting sustained engagement over the 12-week intervention period.

Study summary

Families of children with neurodevelopmental differences (NDDs) experience disproportionately high levels of parenting stress and mental health difficulties, including elevated depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden. These challenges are often compounded by increased caregiving demands, system navigation stress, and limited access to timely, tailored mental health supports. Parental mental health plays a critical role in family functioning and child outcomes; however, existing services for families of children with NDDs are frequently fragmented, inaccessible, or focused primarily on child behavior rather than caregiver well-being. As a result, many caregivers experience unmet mental health needs that persist throughout early and middle childhood.

To address this gap, our team developed BEAM (Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health), an app-based parenting and mental health intervention that integrates psychoeducation, peer support, progress monitoring, and coached support. Clinical trials evaluating BEAM with parents of young children have demonstrated promising improvements in parental depression, anxiety, and parenting stress, as well as reductions in harsh parenting practices. Building on this evidence base, the current trial examines the implementation and outcomes of BEAM delivered as-is to families of children with NDDs (BEAM-NDD), without content adaptation, to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness within this high-need population.

This trial uses a single-arm pre-post design to evaluate BEAM-NDD among parents and caregivers of children with diagnosed or suspected neurodevelopmental differences. Primary aims are to (1) assess feasibility and acceptability of BEAM-NDD, including recruitment, retention, engagement, satisfaction, and perceived unmet needs; (2) examine changes in caregiver mental health and parenting outcomes following program participation; and (3) explore individual differences in engagement and outcomes to identify for whom BEAM-NDD may be more or less effective.

Participants will complete a 12-week intervention delivered through the BEAM app, consisting of weekly parenting and mental health videos, progress tracking, a moderated peer forum, and optional peer-coaching support. Assessments will be completed at baseline prior to program initiation (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2), and at follow-up (T3).

By evaluating BEAM-NDD within real-world service contexts, this trial aims to determine whether an existing evidence-based digital parenting and mental health intervention can support caregiver well-being among families of children with NDDs without requiring adaptation. Findings will inform the scalability and sustainability of BEAM-NDD as an accessible mental health support for families facing long waitlists, limited specialized services, or geographic barriers to care.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in caregiver mental health symptom composite — Baseline before randomization, immediately following the 12-week intervention or services-as-usual period, and 3-month follow-up
  Caregiver mental health will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Anger Short Form, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep Disturbance Short Form. Scale scores will be standardized before being combined. For each participant, symptoms exceeding the prespecified threshold at baseline will be weighted according to baseline severity and averaged to produce one composite score. Change in this composite score from baseline will be reported, with lower scores indicating improvement in caregiver mental health symptoms.
• Recruitment rate — From initiation of recruitment through completion of recruitment, approximately 6 months
  Number and percentage of screened individuals who enrol in the study
• Participant retention — Immediately following the 12-week intervention or services-as-usual period
  Percentage of enrolled participants who complete the post-intervention assessment
• Program module completion — Throughout the 12-week intervention
  Number and percentage of the 12 weekly BEAM modules completed by participants assigned to BEAM
• App engagement — Throughout the 12-week intervention
  Number of participant interactions with specified BEAM features, including progress-monitoring surveys and forum activity
• Parent-coaching attendance — Throughout the 12-week intervention
  Number of parent-coaching sessions attended by participants assigned to BEAM

Trial sites (1)

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