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Classroom
CBT to be piloted
January
26, 2009
by Angela Hussain
.......
Classroom
cognitive behavioural therapy is to be given to teenagers at risk
of depression as part of a government-backed trial.
If
successful the CBT intervention could be rolled out to the rest
of the UK, say researchers.
The
NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme (HTA) is providing £1.2m
for the randomised-controlled pilot trial on children
aged 13-16 from comprehensive schools in Bath, Bristol, Nottingham
and Swindon
Around
one in ten children are at high risk of becoming seriously depressed,
say researchers.
But
a school-based CBT depression prevention programme called the Resourceful
Adolescent Programme (RAP) is effective in reducing depressive symptoms
in high-risk children, claim researchers.
Pupils
in the pilot will completing a questionnaire, and then be screened
as either being at low risk of getting depressed, high risk or probably
already depressed.
School
classes will then be randomly assigned to receive RAP, a placebo
intervention or the standard curriculum-based personal health and
social education class.
RAP,
which was developed in Australia and targets depressive cognitions
and mood, will be run in over ten weeks. Sessions will be led by
mental health professionals.
"Depression
is a serious problem amongst adolescents that can lead to mental
health problems in later life,” said Professor Paul Stallard
from the Mental Health Research and Development Unit at the University
of Bath, who is leading the pilot which begins this month.
"Studies
have shown that if we give young people the tools that can help
them build resilience, they can avoid these issues becoming a problem
in later life.
"If
this trial is successful, we hope to be able to roll-out this programme
to schools throughout the country.”
*
Full details of the NHS
Health Technology Assessment Programme
research here
See also:
Young
people
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