Interpersonal Counseling for Adolescent Depression (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for: School Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Marriage & Family Therapists

Course By: Ken Springer, PhD

Content By: Parhiala, P., Ranta, K.,  Gergov, V., Kontunen, J., Law, R., La Greca, A. M.,  M. Torppa, M., & Marttunen, M. (2020). Interpersonal counseling in the treatment of adolescent depression: A randomized controlled effectiveness and feasibility study in school health and welfare services. School Mental Health, 12, 265-283.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-019-09346-w 

Course Description: Although interpersonal therapy (IPT) has been shown to help adolescents with  depression, implementation of this approach in school settings may be difficult owing to time constraints. The present study explored the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of treating adolescent depression with interpersonal counseling (IPC), a brief version of IPT that can be delivered by  professionals who do not specialize in mental health. In this study, adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression received either IPC or brief psychological support (BPS) at their school for six weeks. IPC was implemented by school professionals who were trained by the researchers in advance. The researchers found that the IPC and BPS groups both showed significant improvements in depressive symptoms following treatment and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups, with no differences in improvement between the two groups. Evidence also suggested high levels of feasibility and acceptability, with no group differences on either dimension. The results suggest that school-based, short-term treatments for adolescent depression can be effective, feasible, and acceptable. 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the need for IPC, the methods by which it was implemented in this study, and the approach used to evaluate its impact
• Describe the main findings with respect to the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of IPC
• Integrate the strengths and limitations of the study, and summarize the implications for school-based interventions for adolescent depression

Course Outline:

• Read and understand Interpersonal counseling in the treatment of adolescent depression: A randomized controlled effectiveness and feasibility study in school health and welfare services
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Understand the need for short-term, school-based interventions for adolescent depression
• Analyze how IPC and BPS were implemented, how their effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability were compared, and how conclusions were draw from these comparisons
• Integrate the study's key findings, strengths, limitations, and clinical implications
• Work through the post-test questions, using the article as the sole basis for your answers
• Revisit the article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of IPC for supporting adolescents with depression

Approvals: