Largest ever study into adolescent depression

14 February 2012

At the Anna Freud Centre we have been conducting the largest ever study into adolescent depression, to help us understand what can help those young people and their families at this crucial point in their lives.

Most people know someone who has struggled with clinical depression and recognise it is a debilitating disease. The World Health Organisation has recently given clinical depression the same level of importance as heart disease to reflect this. Sixty percent of adults first became depressed in their teens so early intervention is crucial.

At the Anna Freud Centre we have been conducting the IMPACT study- the largest ever study into adolescent depression, examining how treating adolescents for depression in their teens can help reduce the  risks of depression later on in life. We have been working with University College London, Cambridge University and Manchester University in this study using three different types of treatment.

Firstly, Specialist Clinical Care where the young person sees a psychiatrist for a number of sessions and looks at how changing some practical elements of their life including exercise and sleep patterns might help with the possible use of anti-depressants.

The second treatment we are using is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) which involves a number of one to one meetings over a period of twenty weeks. This treatment is for severely depressed young people who may be self harming or made previously attempted to commit suicide. This form of treatment looks at the thoughts of the young person involved and shows how cognitions affect behaviours. We look to challenge the young person’s cognitions and see how this very practical approach can change their behaviours.

The third treatment we are using is called Short Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (STPP) in which the Anna Freud Centre is leading the way, headed up by Peter Fonagy and Mary Target. STPP is less structured than CBT and examines the emotional experience of the young person involved. We look to explore their inner world and this involves building up a relationship of trust over a period of approximately twenty eight weeks. This study will treat five hundred and sixty young people across eighteen different clinics around the country, and we have just completed treating our three hundredth person.

This study has encouraged clinics around the UK to think more carefully about depression in young people. The numbers being referred have increased as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are recognising that depression is often marked by other behaviours.

This study has been worked on for several years and we are very conscious of the young people being evaluated regularly. It can often feel that there are lots of forms to fill out and no space to discuss how life is being depressed and how family life is living with someone who is depressed.

This has led to a second part of our study, IMPACT-ME, which is generously funded by The Monument Trust, and allows us to work with the families of the young people we treat. Each family is interviewed when the young person is referred and then again after the treatment has finished. This allows us to put explanations and qualitative information behind the quantitative figures and enables us to look at the families and young person’s journey. This has transformed our relationships with families as they are never normally asked about their experiences.

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