None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Depression is a major health issue amongst adolescents in New Zealand with rates of 4-8% at the age of 15 rising rapidly to 17-18% by the age of 18. The effect of depressive disorder in young people is pervasive and affects not only function but overall development. Treatment options include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), and anti-depressants for serious depressive disorder. Workforce strategies mean that CBT and IPT are often unavailable. This study is to evaluate self-administered CBT that is computer-based. This self-help treatment is a form of therapy that has several advantages over traditional therapist-administered help in that patients can go through the programme at their own pace. It is less costly to administer, easily accessible, and may not carry the stigma often associated with seeking mental health treatment. This study will compare the efficacy of computerized CBT (CCBT) with the usual therapy in adolescents with mild to moderate depression. Study participants will be assessed after a 2 month treatment period and again 3 months after completion of therapy.
Interventions
Participants will be invited to complete a computer-administered self-directed programme (CCBT) over 4-8 weeks under minimal supervision from a health professional in primary care setting/school guidance counselling/youth one stop shop.
The computer-administered self-directed programme is based on Cogntive Beahvioural Therapy (CBT) and consists of 7 modules each taking approximately 30 minutes to complete. The programme is steeped in a 3D fantasy game with challenges and puzzles, as well as inf
Participants will be invited to complete a computer-administered self-directed programme (CCBT) over 4-8 weeks under minimal supervision from a health professional in primary care setting/school guidance counselling/youth one stop shop. The computer-administered self-directed programme is based on Cogntive Beahvioural Therapy (CBT) and consists of 7 modules each taking approximately 30 minutes to complete. The programme is steeped in a 3D fantasy game with challenges and puzzles, as well as information about ways of managing mood. Participants are encouraged to complete the 7 modules over a period of 4-8 weeks (in total about 4 hours). Content-specific challenges are set at the end of each module and reviewed at the beginnign of each new module. Participants can complete the programme at school/health clinic or take it home. The programme is accompanied by a printed Notebook where the participants can take notes and track their progress. The overall duration will be determined on a case by case basis.
Sponsors
The University of Auckland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
12 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Adolescents will be eligible for inclusion in the trial if: 1. They are experiencing mild to moderate depressive symptoms (as determined by the provider and ideally backed by a standardised assessment tool e.g. depression screening questions or Patient Health Questionnarie ( PHQ-9) with scores of 10-19 inclusive and CDRS-R with t-score of 55-84) 2. They are 12 to 19 years of age on the day of consent 3. They are able to provide written consent. If under the age of 16 on the day of consent parental consent is to be obtained in addition 4. They attend a school/Primary Health Organisation (PHO)/Youth clinic which is a study site 5. They have a reasonable English language ability (minimum of 1 year of schooling in English) 6. They have access to a computer to use the CCBT
Exclusion criteria
Adolescents will be ineligible for inclusion in the trial if: 1.They score 7 on item 12 and 5 or higher on item 13 on CDRS-R ; 2. They score less than 54 (t-score) on CDRS-R (i.e. have no or minimal symptoms of depression); 3. They have severe depression (i.e: t-score of 85 or higher on CDRS-R or be judged by clinican that self-help computer programme alone is unlikey to be adequate) or high suicide/self-harm risk; 4.They have an intellectual disability or physical limitations that would result in them not being able to use the computer programme; 5. If they have any other major mental health disorder where the primary focus is not depression; 6. If they are have received within the last 3 months, or are already receiving CBT, interpersonal therapy (IPT) or antidepressant medication;
Outcome results
None listed