Task-Shifting Adapted IPT-A for Youth Suicide Prevention

Youth Mentor-Led Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Youth Suicide Prevention

The goal of this randomized pragmatic clinical trial is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and mechanisms of change of a brief adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (BIPT-A), adapted and task-shifted to lay providers (mentors, youth trusted adults) in youth community centers (YCCs) as an upstream approach to suicide.

It focuses on Hispanic adolescents ages 12-17 enrolled in these YCCs. The pragmatic clinical trial will evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of adapted IPT-A delivered by mentors in YCCs and whether adapted BIPT-A impacts mechanisms of change (depressive symptoms, belongingness, and burdensomeness or feeling like a burden to others).

The main questions to answer are:

• Is adapted BIPT-A, when delivered by trained lay providers (youth mentors), feasible and acceptable in youth community centers?
• Does adapted BIPT-A, delivered by lay providers, change key risk factors (i.e., key mechanisms: depressive symptoms, low belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness) associated with suicide ideation? The investigators will compare adolescents randomized to adapted BIPT-A (6 sessions) delivered by a trained youth mentor with those receiving usual services at the community center (one individual session focused on active listening).

Participants will:

1. Be screened for subthreshold depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire Adolescent version (PHQ-A). Adolescent participants will be included if they score between 4 and 9 (mild depression). Participants with a PHQ-A score of 10 or higher (severe depression) will not be eligible and will be referred to a licensed mental health provider for appropriate care.
2. Be randomized to adapted BIPT-A or usual care. Adolescent participants in the intervention arm will participate in 6 weekly, adapted BIPT-A sessions with a trained youth mentor. Intervention focuses on education, affect identification, and interpersonal skills.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Parent consent
2. Adolescent consent
3. Enrolled in youth community centers
4. Self-identified as Hispanic or Latine
5. Between 12 and 17 years old.
6. Scoring threshold for depression (4-9) as indicated in the PHQ-A.
7. No current report of suicide ideation with plan or self-harming behaviors

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Not consented to participate in the study
2. Scoring 10 or higher in the PHQ-A, indicating depressive disorder
3. Active suicide ideation (i.e., having thoughts of killing oneself, thinking about how in the past month).