New mindfulness therapy offers hope to teens struggling with depression

Researchers have developed a mindfulness therapy designed specifically for teenagers to help them cope with rising levels of depression and mental health problems.

This approach teaches participants to tune into and manage negative thought patterns that can trigger or maintain depression, and allows them to focus on the present moment instead.

The ATTEND program, developed by teams from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London – ANDadolescents and caregivers who use mindfulness Ttherapy Tat END depression – also includes sessions for parents and carers, providing a family-centred approach to problem solving. The program is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Adolescent depression is a serious problem in the UK, affecting around 140,000 young people aged 15-19. Only about 35,000 receive treatment, and of these 14,000 do not respond to treatment, while an additional 8,000 relapse after initial success. This highlights the urgent need for more effective and sustainable solutions.

Too many young people struggle with their mental health but are unable to get the support they need from the NHS. Even among those who receive support, treatment is not effective enough for more than half of them.

We know that mindfulness classes for adults can help people with depression, but what works for an adult is likely to be different from what works for a teenager. That’s why we’ve developed a more ‘teen-friendly’ therapy that’s more engaging and, we hope, more effective.”

Professor Tamsin Ford, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge

Professor Ford and colleagues from King’s College London and the Universities of Exeter and Surrey have developed Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers, which is based on the highly acclaimed Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

MBCT is an evidence-based treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for adults with recurrent depression. It combines mindfulness techniques with cognitive behavioral approaches to help people avoid relapse. Professor Ford and colleagues have adapted MBCT to make it more engaging and effective for teenagers.

The new course will see teenagers attend eight weekly skills training sessions, either in person or online in groups. The ATTEND program also works with families to develop a program to help participants consolidate the skills they learn between sessions.

Unlike traditional MBCT, Mindfulness for Teens and Caregivers includes sessions for both teens and their parents or caregivers. In addition, there are more movement breaks, shorter practice sessions, snacks and activities for teenagers.

Professor Patrick Smith, professor of clinical psychology at King’s College London, said: “Supporting a depressed teenager can be incredibly challenging for a family. Parents often struggle to know how to best help their children. That’s why our course offers separate, parallel learning for We hope it will help parents better understand and support their child’s recovery, and potentially improve their mental health and family relationships.”

Although MBCT is well established for adults, its effectiveness for adolescents is still being investigated. The ATTEND program is a large-scale trial across England to assess whether mindfulness for teenagers and carers is more effective than current treatments for depression available on the NHS.

The team aims to recruit 480 teenagers and their parents, half of whom will participate in mindfulness groups and the other half who will continue with usual care. Researchers will study outcomes such as recovery rates, relapse prevention and cost-effectiveness compared with standard approaches.

Professor Ford added: “While our main aim is to see if our mindfulness course can help teenagers recover from low mood or depression and prevent relapse, we are also interested in the benefits it can bring to their carers.

“Just as importantly, we want to see if this approach – if effective – can be integrated into NHS services. This will ensure access to it for many teenagers struggling with their mental health.”

Young people and parents who have experienced depression have been involved in the development of the ATTEND program from the beginning. Their input ensured that the program was tailored to the needs of families and involved both teenagers and their carers.

How to get involved

The ATTEND team is currently recruiting 15-18-year-olds who are experiencing depression or low mood, who have received treatment but have not fully recovered, to take part in the trial in Cambridge and Peterborough, London, Devon, Sussex, Nottingham and Oxford. Participants are also offered a financial incentive of £60 each for completing the study.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please visit the ATTEND study website for more information.

“If we can come earlier, then we can save people from future pain.”

Kat Nellist knows exactly what it’s like to feel anxious and depressed when you’re young. Even at the age of eight, she received counseling.

“I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t have one,” she says.

Kat was very anxious and had a hard time making friends. She had difficulty concentrating on school work and did not participate in school activities. “All those things, like a sense of accomplishment and a social circle, if you don’t have that in your life, it’s hard to sustain yourself. It just gets worse and worse because you withdraw from everything and it makes you even more upset.

Kat was officially diagnosed with anxiety and depression as a teenager and tried various therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), also known as ‘talk therapy’, but found it difficult to connect with her therapist, which is not uncommon . she says.

When she was 15, she was offered mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). It was an eight-week group activity. Group meetings can seem daunting to someone who suffers from anxiety, but she says it meant she was able to meet like-minded people, which in turn helped reduce her anxiety.

“CBT is about trying to distance yourself from your thoughts and realizing that your thoughts don’t have to control your feelings,” she says. “It teaches you that you don’t have to interact with your thoughts. This allows you to recognize negative thought patterns when they arise, whether it’s negative “self-talk” or the feeling that something small will be the end of the world. learn to say to yourself, “I have this thought pattern, but that doesn’t mean I have to believe it, it’s not a fact.”

MBCT takes this a step further and teaches a person to allow negative thoughts to come and go and to be present in the present moment, such as when spending time with friends.

“It teaches you to think, ‘Well, it’s a really sad thought, but I’d rather be doing what I’m busy doing.’ Because right now I don’t have to pull that little spiral and I can actually continue to enjoy my coffee.”

Also important is that the course helped improve Kat’s relationship with her parents. “When you’re a teenager, there’s always a bit of friction between you and your mum and dad. This is what being a teenager is all about. But (MBCT) improved those relationships, which improved my life in every way.”

Now in her twenties, Kat is studying psychology at Goldsmiths University, London. She still has negative thoughts, but has learned to live with them. “I still use the coping mechanisms I learned as a teenager to deal with the challenges I face as an adult. The problems don’t stop completely, they’re just completely different life problems.”

She is determined that her experience can help others and is therefore the co-leader of the ATTEND study, which she participated in involving patients and the public.

“My main role is to ensure that we take into account the feelings of young people throughout the project. Everything has to be focused on teenagers,” she says.

“Teenagers can often be neglected. There’s a lot of help for young kids and a lot of help for adults, but sometimes when you’re a teenager, you can slip a little. This is an important time to intervene because this is when many mental health problems begin to arise. If we can come in early, we can save people from future pain and give them more support.”