New Mindfulness Therapy Trial Targets Teen Anxiety and Depression

Kat Nellist, a 25-year-old student from south-east London who has experienced anxiety and depression since childhood, hopes a new “teen-friendly” mindfulness therapy she helped design could benefit other young people. This therapy is specifically tailored for teenagers to assist them in coping with increasing levels of depression and mental health problems. The Attend study plans to recruit 480 teenagers and their parents to participate in assessing the impact of this mindfulness therapy. The trials for this programme are scheduled to take place in London, Devon, Sussex, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, and Peterborough. Ms. Nellist, who is currently studying for a psychology degree at Goldsmith’s, University of London, shared that she was receiving counselling by the age of eight and “couldn’t remember a time where I didn’t have [anxiety and depression]”. She received a formal diagnosis during her pre-teen years and explored various therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). She explained that CBT focused on distancing oneself from one’s thoughts and preventing them from controlling one’s feelings. Nevertheless, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was the approach that helped reduce her anxiety. She stated: “It teaches you to think, ‘That’s a really sad thought, but I’d rather attend to the thing I’m busy doing… I don’t need to get pulled down that little spiral and I can actually continue enjoying my coffee’.” Ms. Nellist has learned to live with her negative thoughts and expressed hope that her experience could assist others, as “teenagers can often get neglected”. She further commented: “There’s a lot of help for young children and a lot of help for adults, but sometimes when you’re in your mid-teens you can slip through the cracks a little bit.” She emphasized: “It’s an important time to intervene… If we can get in early then we can save people future pain and give them more support.” Professor Tamsin Ford, head of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, stated that an excessive number of young people struggle with their mental health and do not receive the necessary support through the NHS. She expressed hope that adapting MBCT to make it more engaging and effective for teenagers could lead to better outcomes. Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers, a programme based on MBCT, was developed by the University of Cambridge, King’s College London, and the Universities of Exeter and Surrey. Professor Ford commented: “Although our main goal is to see whether our mindfulness course can help teenagers recover from low mood or depression and prevent relapses, we’re also interested in the benefits it might provide to their carers.” She added: “Equally importantly, we want to see whether this approach – if effective – could be integrated into NHS services.” “This would ensure that it’s accessible to many more teenagers who are struggling with their mental health.” The Attend programme, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, was developed by teams at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. Updates on Cambridgeshire news can be accessed via BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC does not assume responsibility for the content of external sites. Details concerning their external linking policy are available.