Topic: Depression, Emotional Competency, Social Competency
Target Population: Adolescents, Parents
Sector: Community-Based, School-Based
This program is for adolescents who are 14 to 18 years old and have been diagnosed with depression and their parents.
The Adolescent Coping with Depression Course (CWD-A) is a community- or school-based, cognitive-behavioral group treatment program that is designed to teach adolescents a variety of skills to help them control their moods and to manage situations that contribute to depression.
This program is placed as Unclear due to mixed results across studies. One randomized trial of youth recruited from the community found that participants were significantly more likely to recover from depression compared to youth in a wait-list control group; this higher recovery rate was sustained 2 years post intervention. However, another randomized trial involving depressed adolescent offspring of adults who were receiving treatment for depression found no benefits for youth participating in CWD-A. The reason for the different outcomes of these trials is unclear; although, possibilities include a difference in the average number of sessions attended (i.e., 14 versus 10) and differences in target populations (e.g., parental depression).
CWD-A is facilitated by a mental health professional with mixed-gender groups of up to 10 adolescents and may be used as an after-school program or in other settings. Key topics include the following:
Instruction tools include lectures, discussions, role-playing exercises, activities, and homework assignments.
CWD-A may be implemented with or without a parallel group or informational sessions for parents. These informational sessions are designed to teach parents the same skills being taught to their adolescent and provide the opportunity to practice solving problems during joint sessions.
CWD-A has been used in the United States and Canada in settings, such as schools and juvenile detention centers. Over 500 therapists have obtained training in this program.
CWD-A should be implemented by, or under the supervision of, licensed mental health professionals with a bachelor's or master's degree. A DVD training course is available for $249 and can be purchased from https://www.saavsus.com/adolescent-coping-with-depression-course. Training and implementation information are also provided in the therapist manual, which is available for free by visiting https://research.kpchr.org/Research/Research-Areas/Mental-Health/Youth-Depression-Programs#Downloads.
Considerations for implementing this program include securing and training qualified and committed therapists, recruiting and retaining participants, and obtaining program space.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing CWD-A, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
CWD-A is conducted in 16 2-hour sessions over 8 weeks. Booster sessions are optional. The optional parent group consists of nine 2-hour sessions. The program may be modified to be delivered in shorter sessions or on an individual basis.
Leader manuals and participant workbooks are free from https://research.kpchr.org/Research/Research-Areas/Mental-Health/Youth-Depression-Programs#Downloads.
To move the CWD-A program to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence research would need to be conducted that clarifies for whom or under what circumstances positive results are found and sustained.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact Gregory N. Clarke, Ph.D., by phone 1-503-335-6673, or email Greg.Clarke@kpchr.org or contact Paul Rohde, Ph.D., by phone 1-541-484-2123, fax 1-541-484-1108, email paulr@ori.org, or visit https://research.kpchr.org/Research/Research-Areas/Mental-Health/Youth-Depression-Programs#Downloads or https://www.saavsus.com/adolescent-coping-with-depression-course
https://www.saavsus.com/adolescent-coping-with-depression-course; https://research.kpchr.org/Research/Research-Areas/Mental-Health/Youth-Depression-Programs#Downloads; https://www.cebc4cw.org/program/adolescent-coping-with-depression-course-cwd-a/detailed; Clarke, Rohde, Lewinsohn, Hops, and Seeley (1999); and Clarke et al. (2002).
Clarke, G. N., Hornbrook, M., Lynch, F., Polen, M., Gale, J., O'Connor, E., ... Debar, L. (2002). Group cognitive-behavioral treatment for depressed adolescent offspring of depressed parents in a health maintenance organization. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(3), 305-313. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200203000-00010
Clarke, G. N., Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P. M., Hops, H., & Seeley, J. R. (1999). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of adolescent depression: Efficacy of acute group treatment and booster sessions. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(3), 272-279. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199903000-00014
Rohde, P., Turner, C. W., Waldron, H. B., Brody, J. L., & Jorgensen, J. (2018). Depression change profiles in adolescents treated for comorbid Depression/Substance abuse and profile membership predictors. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47(4), 595-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1118695
Rohde, P., Waldron, H. B., Turner, C. W., Brody, J., & Jorgensen, J. (2014). Sequenced versus coordinated treatment for adolescents with comorbid depressive and substance use disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82(2), 342-348. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035808
Rohde, P., Clarke, G. N., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Kaufman, N. K. (2001). Impact of comorbidity on a cognitive-behavioral group treatment for adolescent depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(7), 795-802. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200107000-00014
Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Seeley, J. R. (1994). Response of depressed adolescents to cognitive-behavioral treatment: Do differences in initial severity clarify the comparison of treatments? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(4), 851-854. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.62.4.851
Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., Kaufman, N. K., Clarke, G. N., & Stice, E. (2006). Predicting time to recovery among depressed adolescents treated in two psychosocial group interventions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(1), 80-88. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.1.80
Kahn, J. S., Kehle, T. J., Jenson, W. R., & Clark, E. (1990). Comparison of cognitive-behavioral, relaxation, and self-modeling interventions for depression among middle-school students. School Psychology Review, 19(2), 196-211. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.1990.12085457
Listug-Lunde, L., Vogeltanz-Holm, N., & Collins, J. (2013). A cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression in rural American Indian middle school students. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 20(1), 16-34. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2001.2013.16
Ralph, A., & Nicholson, L. (1995). Teaching coping skills to depressed adolescents in high school settings. Behaviour Change, 12(4), 175-190. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0813483900004022
Rohde, P., Clarke, G. N., Mace, D. E., Jorgensen, J. S., & Seeley, J. R. (2004). An efficacy/effectiveness study of cognitive-behavioral treatment for adolescents with comorbid major depression and conduct disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(6), 660-668. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000121067.29744.41
