Music, exercise and pets: Yorkshire researchers study what helps young people with depression

Music, exercise or caring for a pet are examples of how people can beat the blues, health professionals say.

But researchers in Yorkshire want to find out just how effective such activities can be to aid treatment for young people struggling with low moods.

A psychological treatment will be used to combat depression in young people as part of a new five-year research programme.

ComBAT (Community-based Behavioural Activation Training) will develop, implement and evaluate a treatment called Behavioural Activation, a brief psychological therapy, for young people aged 12 to 18 years who have mild to moderate depression.

Clinicians and researchers from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), Hull York Medical School and the University of York are leading the research, which is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the research partner of the NHS.

Behavioural Activation (BA) is based on one key principle: that enjoyable, purposeful and meaningful activities can lift our mood, energise us and stimulate our interest and pleasure in day-to-day life, so that people can again experience the emotional rewards of pleasure and achievement that are lost during depression.

The programme of work will take place across the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust geographical area, which stretches from Country Durham and Teesside to North Yorkshire, including York. The team will recruit up to 300 young people from schools, charities and children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Professor Dave Ekers, Clinical Director for Research and Development at TEWV, said: “Behavioural Activation is a well-established and effective therapeutic intervention for adults, and we think it is a very promising intervention for young people, too.

“There have been two pilot studies implementing Behavioural Activation in adolescents, but this will be the first large scale randomised controlled trial for this intervention.”

The BA sessions will guide and support each young person to identify, schedule, complete and monitor day-to-day activities that counteract unhealthy patterns.

These activities are a balance between hobbies such as playing music, exercising, reading, fashion or gaming, and necessary tasks or routines such as preparing food, washing, shopping, working, or caring for a family member or a pet.

The activities are tailored to the interests, circumstances, people and goals that are important to each young person. A graded approach to activities is used to overcome obstacles such as hesitation and tiredness that are to be expected with depression.

Lina Gega, Professor of Mental Health at Hull York Medical School and the university, which leads the project on behalf of the Foundation Trust, said the programme will evaluate BA’s benefits and value for money compared to usual care for young people with mild to moderate depression.

Prof Gega said: “Depression negatively affects young people’s lives, including their personal and academic development, their relationships with others and their sense of self. Schools and community agencies alongside the NHS play an important part in broadening access to clinically informed interventions that can change the trajectory of depression and improve young people’s lives.

“Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust has an excellent track record in supporting and delivering studies in Behavioural Activation for adult populations; it is a great opportunity to build on this experience and expand the remit of this intervention to include adolescents.”