Teens to test depression treatment
Teenagers in Bath will test whether special therapy techniques can help combat depression.
Children aged between 13 and 16 in Bath and three other locations will be studied in a £1 million project.
The initiative will be led by internationally-renowned University of Bath expert Professor Paul Stallard.
It will be one of three projects backed by the National Institute for Health Research into the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy in tackling depression.
Prof Stallard aims to test whether a school-based depression prevention programme, the Resourceful Adolescent Programme (RAP) which was developed in Australia, can reduce reducing symptoms of depression in high risk children in the UK. RAP involves sessions led by trained and supervised mental health professionals, with around a fifth of pupils per class likely to be labelled as of high risk.
Researchers will invite children from mixed comprehensive schools in Bath, Bristol, Nottingham and Swindon to complete a screening questionnaire. The scores from these will be used to identify and categorise children as either low risk, high risk of depression or probably depressed.
5 Comments
by Moe, Bath
Monday, January 26 2009, 8:24PM
“"Didn't have time to be depressed"!? Wow, I never realised the cure was a simple matter of doing dangerous stuff and visiting prohibited places. You could save the health industry billions. Thanks for that.”
by Christine, Bath
Monday, January 26 2009, 5:03PM
“The suicide rate amongst the young has always been unnaturally high and it is young men in particular who are often most vulerable. Kids often get told 'what have you got to feel down about with your life ahead of you?' and it is often this that overwhelms them. Worries about their weight, their futures and peer pressures as well as raging hormones and exams can topple many a young person over the edge and it has been like this for a long time. Anyone who can't recall this in their teenage era was either very lucky or has succesfully managed to erase it as people often do.”
by Tom Trosborg, Bath
Sunday, January 25 2009, 8:42PM
“Contary to a popular myth, we were not all angels when we were young in the sixties. And of course there were depressed children back then.
It's kind of similar to smoking cigarettes, isn't it. Back then nobody died from smoking cigarettes - and now they suddenly do. What could possibly be the reason for that, we are left to wonder - was it really because everybody were so much healthier, more honest, law-abiding, and so on (even smoking more than now), than the much-maligned young people of today?
As I have said several times on these pages: I generally speaking find the youth of today more friendly, helpful and sociable than we ever we. Thank you, kiddos - I for one have great hopes for the future!”
by Sam, Bath
Sunday, January 25 2009, 12:02PM
“There was no ADHD, obesity, knife crime or yobs back then either Gee. Or in the '80s when I was a child.
Isn't it funny how advances in technology like computers and mobile phones are supposed to make our lives easier, when in fact it's just made everyone lazy, arrogant and depressed.
I feel sorry for this generation of kids having to grow up in the the world today. It's making me feel depressed thinking about it!”
by Gee, Radstockshire
Sunday, January 25 2009, 10:36AM
“Funny old thing; as children in the '50 and '60, we didn't have time to be depressed. We were too busy doing things! and we had less television. We also used to do things that are now "dangerous" and visit places that are now prohibited (aerodromes, railway sites, "waste" land etc).
Perhaps, paradoxily, we also had rules and limits to live within and standards to maintain. Maybe that gave us the security to not feel depressed. Anyway, don't ask me; I work for a living.”