Evaluation of an Asynchronous Remote Communities Approach to Behavioral Activation for Depressed Adolescents

Evaluation of an Asynchronous Remote Communities Approach to Behavioral Activation for Depressed Adolescents

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a digital health intervention, called "ActivaTeen," improves depression treatment for teenagers with depression. The investigators also want to know if ActivaTeen is easy to use for both teenagers and mental health clinicians who help deliver treatment through ActivaTeen. All teenagers in the study will receive an individual depression therapy called Behavioral Activation or "BA" and about half will also use ActivaTeen.

The main questions this trial aims to answer are:

• Does ActivaTeen improve depression treatment for teenagers?
• Do teenagers and clinicians find ActivaTeen to be acceptable?

Researchers will compare teenagers using ActivaTeen along with BA to teenagers who are only doing BA to see the effects of ActivaTeen.

Participants in the study will:

• Fill out surveys online several times during the study, which lasts about 6 months
• Receive individual BA therapy

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 13 - 19
• Referred for MDD treatment
• Clinically assessed diagnosis of current MDD based on caregiver or patient report or a PHQ-8 total of 8 or greater (moderate MDD)
• MDD clinically determined to be the primary diagnosis
• English-speaking
• Access to a smartphone device

Exclusion Criteria:

• Developmental disability (e.g., intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder)
• Severe psychiatric comorbidity (e.g., active suicidality requiring higher level of care; psychosis or substance use, bipolar, or conduct disorder)
• Previously completed a full course of evidence based psychosocial intervention for depression