Development of an Insomnia Treatment for Depressed Adolescents

Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs at least 11% of adolescents and approximately 53-90%
of those adolescents have insomnia. If left untreated, insomnia increases the risk of
relapse and recurrence of depressive episodes, unintentional injuries, poor school
performance, substance use, obesity, and the risk for suicide. This project seeks to develop
a nonpharmacological treatment for insomnia in adolescents with depression that is feasible
and effective. The specific methodologies that will help accomplish these results are: 1)
use of focus groups of adolescents with depression and insomnia to determine how the current
standard, nonpharmacological treatment for insomnia (cognitive-behavioral therapy for
insomnia; CBTI) among adults can be modified for use by adolescents with depression and 2)
determine the preliminary effectiveness, feasibility, and tolerability of group CBTI in
adolescents with depression (CBTI-AD) developed using feedback from the focus groups. This
project will help to improve the quality and scope of delivery of mental health services in
Michigan by a) gaining a greater understanding of how sleep disturbance may perpetuate
depression in adolescents and b) to provide mental health professionals with a
nonpharmacological treatment option for insomnia in adolescents with depression.