Voice hearing in young people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following multiple trauma exposure.

PTSD is comorbid with a number of other mental health difficulties and the link between voice hearing and PTSD has been explored in adult samples. To compare the trauma history, symptomatology, and cognitive phenotypes of children and adolescents with a PTSD diagnosis following exposure to multiple traumatic events presenting with voice hearing with those who do not report hearing voices. Participants ( = 120) were aged 8-17 years and had PTSD following exposure to multiple traumas.

Cost-effectiveness of adding a smartphone app (BlueIce) to the mental health care of adolescents who repeatedly self-harm.

Digital interventions can offer crises support although their cost-effectiveness is unknown. We undertook an economic evaluation alongside a two-arm, single blind, randomised controlled trial. 170 adolescents aged 12-17, receiving child and adolescent mental health care who had self-harmed ≥2 in the past 12 months were randomised to usual care with or without an app (BlueIce).

Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST): a cluster randomised controlled trial. Secondary analysis in those with elevated symptoms of depression.

Background: Depression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent in adolescents. The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial investigated the effectiveness of a brief self-referral stress workshop programme for sixth-form students aged 16-18 years old.

Objective: This study conducted a secondary analysis on the outcomes of participants with elevated depressive symptoms at baseline.

The feasibility and acceptability of delivering a group trauma-focused intervention to children in care.

Objective: Young people in care (i.e., in the child welfare system) are a group who have often experienced very high rates of potentially traumatic events, including maltreatment.

Access to best-evidenced mental health support for care-experienced young people: Learnings from the implementation of cognitive therapy for PTSD.

Objectives: Rates of PTSD are up to 12 times higher in care-experienced young people (CEYP) compared to their peers. Trauma-focused CBTs (tf-CBT) are the best-evidenced treatment for youth with PTSD, yet, in practice, CEYP often struggle to access this treatment. We worked alongside services to understand barriers and facilitators of the implementation of cognitive therapy for PTSD (a type of tf-CBT) to CEYP.

Acceptability, use and safety of the BlueIce self-harm prevention app: qualitative findings from the Beating Adolescent Self-Harm (BASH) randomised controlled trial.

Background: Little is known about the social validity of self-harm prevention apps for young adolescents with severe mental health problems who repeatedly self-harm.

Objective: We assessed the acceptability, use and safety of BlueIce, a self-harm prevention app for young adolescents who self-harm.

Methods: Mixed methods study involving a content analysis of postuse interviews.

Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief accessible cognitive behavioural therapy programme for stress in school-aged adolescents (BESST): a cluster randomised controlled trial in the UK.

Background: Depression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent in adolescents. The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial investigated the effectiveness of a brief accessible stress workshop programme for 16-18-year-olds. We aimed to investigate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DISCOVER cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) workshop on symptoms of depression in 16-18-year-olds at 6 months compared with treatment-as-usual.

Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST trial), a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial of the DISCOVER workshop for 16-18-year-olds: recruitment and baseline characteristics.

Background: The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST) is an England-wide school-based cluster randomised controlled trial assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an open-access psychological workshop programme (DISCOVER) for 16-18-year-olds. This baseline paper describes the self-referral and other recruitment processes used in this study and the baseline characteristics of the enrolled schools and participants.

Method: We enrolled 900 participants from 57 Secondary schools across England from 4th October 2021 to 10th November 2022.

Is a smartphone application (BlueIce) acceptable and safe for university students who self-harm: an open study.

Background: Many university students self-harm but few receive support. Smartphone apps have been identified as acceptable sources of support for students who self-harm, but the use of supportive self-harm apps is yet to be explored in this population.

Objective: This study sought to explore the acceptability and safety of a specific app (BlueIce) for university students who self-harm.

Statistical analysis plan for a cluster randomised controlled trial to compare screening, feedback and intervention for child anxiety problems to usual school practice: identifying Child Anxiety Through Schools-identification to intervention (iCATS-i2i).

Background: The Identifying Child Anxiety Through Schools-identification to intervention (iCATS-i2i) trial is being conducted to establish whether 'screening and intervention', consisting of usual school practice plus a pathway comprising screening, feedback and a brief parent-led online intervention (OSI: Online Support and Intervention for child anxiety), bring clinical and health economic benefits compared to usual school practice and assessment only - 'usual school practice', for children aged 8-9 years in the following: (1) the 'target population', who initially screen positive for anxiety problems according to a two-item parent-report child anxiety questionnaire - iCATS-2, and (2) the 'total population', comprising all children in participating classes. This article describes the detailed statistical analysis plan for the trial.

Methods And Design: iCATS-i2i is a definitive, superiority, pragmatic, school-based cluster randomised controlled trial (with internal pilot), with two parallel groups.

Characteristics of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young people with PTSD following multiple trauma exposure.

Background: Complex PTSD (CPTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis. The objective of the present study was to investigate how trauma characteristics, comorbid psychopathology and cognitive and social factors experienced by children and adolescents with a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis following exposure to multiple traumatic events differs between those who meet the criteria for CPTSD and those who do not.

Method: The present research used baseline data from the DECRYPT trial (BMJ Open, 2021, 11, e047600).

The multifaceted consequences and economic costs of child anxiety problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Over a quarter of people have an anxiety disorder at some point in their life, with many first experiencing difficulties during childhood or adolescence. Despite this, gaps still exist in the current evidence base of the multiple consequences of childhood anxiety problems and their costs.

Methods: A systematic review of Medline, PsycINFO, EconLit and the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database was conducted for longitudinal and economic studies reporting on the association between childhood anxiety problems and at least one individual-, family- or societal-level outcome or cost.

Digital technologies to support adolescents with depression and anxiety: review.

Depression and anxiety are common in adolescents, but most affected will not get any formal help. Digital mental health technologies (i.e.

Four Steps To My Future (4STMF): acceptability, feasibility and exploratory outcomes of a universal school-based mental health and well-being programme, delivered to young adolescents in South Africa.

Objective: Mental health disorders affect many children in South Africa, where vulnerability is high, and treatment is limited. We sought to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a universally delivered classroom-based programme for the promotion of mental health in young adolescents.

Method: We pilot tested an 8 session, cognitive-behavioural therapy-based programme, 4 Steps To My Future (4STMF) in two schools.

Further development and feasibility randomised controlled trial of a digital programme for adolescent depression, MoodHwb: study protocol.

Introduction: A digital programme, MoodHwb, was codesigned with young people experiencing or at high risk of depression, parents/carers and professionals, to provide support for young people with their mood and well-being. A preliminary evaluation study provided support for the programme theory and found that MoodHwb was acceptable to use. This study aims to refine the programme based on user feedback, and to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the updated version and study methods.

Promoting mental health and well-being in schools: examining mindfulness, relaxation and strategies for safety and well-being in English primary and secondary schools-study protocol for a multi-school, cluster randomised controlled trial (INSPIRE).

There are increasing rates of internalising difficulties, particularly anxiety and depression, being reported in children and young people in England. School-based universal prevention programmes are thought to be one way of helping tackle such difficulties. This paper describes an update to a four-arm cluster randomised controlled trial ( http://www.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Group-Based Interventions for Treating Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Children and Adolescents.

Objective: Trauma exposure in childhood is common and can lead to a range of negative mental health outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In many settings, resources to address this distress are scarce. Group-based interventions require minimal resources and training, can be delivered by non-mental health specialists, and target larger numbers of children and adolescents.

The impact of universal, school based, interventions on help seeking in children and young people: a systematic literature review.

Reviews into universal interventions to improve help seeking in young people focus on specific concepts, such as behaviour, do not differentiate between interpersonal and intrapersonal help seeking, and often report on statistical significance, rather than effect size. The aim of this review was to address the gaps highlighted above, to investigate the impact of universal, school-based interventions on help-seeking in children and young people, as well as to explore longer term impact. Four databases were searched.

Increasing access to evidence-based treatment for child anxiety problems: online parent-led CBT for children identified via schools.

Background: Anxiety problems are extremely common and have an early age of onset. We previously found, in a study in England, that fewer than 3% of children with an anxiety disorder identified in the community had accessed an evidence-based treatment (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; CBT). Key ways to increase access to CBT for primary school-aged children with anxiety problems include (a) proactive identification through screening in schools, (b) supporting parents and (c) the provision of brief, accessible interventions (and capitalising on technology to do this).

Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST): protocol for a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial of open-access psychological workshop programme for 16-18-year-olds.

Anxiety and depression are increasingly prevalent in adolescents, often causing daily distress and negative long-term outcomes. Despite the significant and growing burden, less than 25% of those with probable diagnosis of anxiety and depression are receiving help in England. Significant barriers to help-seeking exist in this population, with a scarcity of easily accessible, effective, and cost-effective interventions tailored specially for this age group.