Family Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) for Depressed Preadolescents

The investigators proposed a preliminary randomized control trial of Family Based
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT), a family-based adaptation of Interpersonal
Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A; Mufson et al., 2000). Forty-five
preadolescent children (ages 8-12) diagnosed with a depressive disorder will be randomized
to receive a 14-week course of FB-IPT or Client Centered Therapy (CCT), a supportive
nondirective psychotherapy that closely approximates treatment at usual in community mental
health clinics. In addition to assessing the feasibility and acceptability of randomization
and each of the treatment conditions, this project will evaluate the effects of FB-IPT and
CCT across multiple domains, including symptomatology and psychosocial functioning.
Preadolescents will be assessed prior to treatment, during treatment (Weeks 3, 7, 11), one
week post-treatment, and at 3 and 6 months post-treatment to compare changes in depressive
symptoms, global, social, and family functioning. Data on psychosocial risk factors
associated with onset and recurrence of preadolescent depression will be collected prior to
treatment and at specified intervals post-treatment in order to conduct exploratory analyses
on correlates of positive and negative treatment outcomes for Family Based IPT. This data
will be used to generate future hypotheses about potential mediators and moderators that
will be incorporated into an R01 application for an efficacy study of Family Based IPT.