Reaching Out to Adolescents With Depression

Major Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in adolescence and is
associated with significant impairments in development and functioning. This project will
rigorously test the Adolescent Collaborative Care Treatment intervention, a health services
intervention designed to improve management for depressive disorders among adolescents, via
a randomized controlled trial comparing the intervention to usual care. Key components of
the trial include enhanced education for youth and parents, youth involvement in choice of
evidence-based treatments, care management by an allied health professional with regular
supervision by a mental health specialist and pediatrician, and stepped care to advance
treatment when youth are not improving. Additional features have been added to engage
adolescents and parents including a moderated message board for youth to share with and
learn from one another, formalized involvement of the parent, and availability of the care
manager during after school hours. Our findings will provide key information on the
effectiveness of a developmentally-sensitive adapted collaborative care intervention for the
treatment of adolescent depression.