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Smartteen- a computer assisted cognitive behavior therapy for Indian adolescents with depression- a pilot study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Smartteen- a computer assisted cognitive behavior therapy for Indian adolescents with depression- a pilot study

Paakhi Srivastava, Manju Mehta, Rajesh Sagar and Atul Ambekar
Asian journal of psychiatry, v 50, 101970
Apr 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.101970
PMID: 32114331
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Adolescents Cognitive behavior therapy Computer-assisted cognitive behavior therapy Computers Depression
•smartteen is a computer-assisted cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression in adolescents.•smartteen augmented CBT treatment produced more than 50 % reduction in symptom severity and improved general functioning at the end of treatment•smartteen augmented CBT treatment for depression was shown to be feasible and acceptable for treatment delivery in tertiary care public hospital. .•smartteen augmented CBT for depression was shown to reduce the time spent by the therapist to deliver 12 sessions of CBT to study participants. The prevalence of unipolar depression among adolescents in India is high. Cognitive behavior therapies (CBTs) are considered the current gold standard treatment for depression in adolescents; however, their access is limited in India. Given the ubiquity of technology including smartphones and computers, technology can be leveraged to improve access of CBT treatment in India. Our team developed smartteen- a computer application designed to augment in-person CBT for treatment of depression in adolescents. This paper will present results of the pilot evaluation of smartteen (a cCBT) for its feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness in reducing depressive symptoms. Twenty-one adolescents with unipolar depression seeking treatment at a tertiary care hospital were randomly assigned to smartteen (n = 11) and TAU (n = 10). Both groups received twelve weeks of treatment and were assessed at baseline, mid-treatment (6 weeks) and post-treatment (12 weeks) using four clinical measures including BDI-II, CDRS-R, CGI-S and CGAS. smartteen was shown to be feasible and acceptable treatment to adolescents. At 6 weeks, both treatments were effective in reducing depression. At 12 weeks, smartteen was significantly more effective than TAU in reducing depression symptoms and improving functioning on CGAS. Treatment compliance was better in smartteen group. smartten was shown to reduce the time spent by therapist to deliver 12 sessions of CBT treatment for depression. Results indicate that smartteen may be subjected to more rigorous evaluations with larger samples and considered for wider implementation if found effective.

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21 citations in Web of Science
22 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Psychiatry
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