Take Part: Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers Study

The Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge have partnered to conduct a clinical study addressing mental health and wellbeing in adolescents and carers, with a focus on mindfulness in therapeutic practices. They are looking for participants to take part in this study.

What is the issue they're addressing?

In the UK about 140,000 15–19-year-olds experience depression. An estimated 35,000 young people access NHS treatment for depression, of which, 

• about 14,000 do not respond.
•  A further 8,000 are likely to experience depression again after initial successful treatment.     

Teenagers who still have symptoms after treatment for low mood, depression or anxiety, or who relapse quickly, need more treatment options.

How do they aim to tackle this?

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers (MAC) as a version of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) adapted to be more engaging for teenagers. MAC aims to help teenagers recover from depression and the parallel parent/carer group aims to support parents and carers to cope better.

What are the benefits?

The knowledge generation for mindfulness and MBCT cannot be understated. If found effective then the study will have identified a new therapeutic intervention (MAC) for a particularly vulnerable age range, and also hopefully positively impact waitlists and ease of access to therapy for young people. 

Alongside this is the development of two mindfulness apps and a new training course offered to clinicians interested in mindfulness based interventions.