Take part in research and help test a new treatment for teenage depression

7 February 2025

Teenagers are being called to take part in a new study which could help improve treatment for depression, anxiety and low mood.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) has collaborated with other organisations to form the study, called ATTEND. Researchers are looking to find new, effective treatment options for depression and low mood in adolescents, and developed Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers (MAC).

MAC is an interactive group therapy designed to help young people (aged 15-18) and their parents or carers to learn to recognise negative thoughts and feelings, as well as to help them find new ways to be with stress, and to be kinder to themselves during difficult times

Professor Clara Strauss from SPFT, the ATTEND site lead for Sussex said: “This study could transform the lives of young people struggling with their mental health. If effective it could identify a new therapeutic intervention. This group intervention could be made widely available in the future and be part of the solution to increasing access to mental health support for young people.”

Approximately 140,000 15 to 19-year-olds experience depression in the UK but only 35,000 of them access NHS treatment for depression.

Researchers are trying to understand whether MAC helps reduce depression, anxiety and low mood among young people, and whether these symptoms would become less likely to persist in the future.

Harry Ellis, senior research assistant on ATTEND and the first point of contact to guide people through taking part, said: "We hope that people take part to learn to recognise and respond to early warning signs of depression and anxiety. Your participation will be tremendously helpful for determining whether the new treatment is beneficial."

If you are eligible for the study, you may be able to take part in the new MAC therapy group for free. Everyone taking part will also receive a £60 thank-you for completing three sets of questionnaires and some shorter fortnightly questionnaires.

The study team have produced a short film to explain what the study is about. See it here

Visit the ATTEND study website or contact harrison.ellis@nhs.net to find out if you’re eligible for the study.