Feasibility Trial of Open-Access Psychological Workshops in Schools V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Early Intervention for Depression and Anxiety in 16-18 year olds: a Feasibility Trial of Open-Access Psychological Workshops in Schools (DISCOVER)
IRAS ID
159192
Contact name
June Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
Adolescence is an important time for mental health prevention and treatment, with one in nine adolescents having a mental disorder. However, less than a quarter of young people in the UK are in touch with mental health services. Common obstacles for those who do not seek help range from inconvenient appointment times to fear of stigmatisation. Even if adolescents do reach services, they are unlikely to access cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatment, which has a good evidence base.
A pilot study was conducted into the uptake, effectiveness and acceptability of psychological workshops for 16-18 year olds. The workshops are based on CBT ‘Wellbeing Workshops’ for adults, developed by Brown and colleagues. These workshops are successfully delivered in local community settings, such as libraries, in Southwark, with evidence suggesting good access by black and minority ethic (BME) groups and improvement in depression and anxiety scores among participants.
The CBT workshops for 16 - 18 year olds were run in schools, open to all students interested. A small pilot study had encouraging results in terms of access and effectiveness, with over 70% of participants having not previously sought help and 65% from BME groups. The groups were very effective, with significant improvements made in depression and anxiety scores and high levels of student satisfaction reported.
This study intends to test the possibility of running a full trial of these workshops for anxiety and depression in schools. We will work in 10 schools to see if we can develop appropriate measures to show effectiveness, acceptability and value for money as well as to see whether teachers and students can work with us on a potentially complex research study.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1416
Date of REC Opinion
18 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion