The use and feasibility of a CBT intervention

Mental illness is common and disruptive in adolescents. However, only a small proportion receives treatment. Low intensity preventative interventions may reduce symptoms and increase access to treatment, but few are targeted at young people. A Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) based guided self-help programme has been adapted for use in secondary schools; it covers 7 distinct topics, each with an accompanying booklet and lesson plan. This study investigates its use and feasibility in this context and examines pupil and teacher attitudes.

Approximately 280 second year school pupils received two lessons on a single life-skills area. Attitudes toward each booklet and class were evaluated by questionnaire and results summarised using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were gathered from teacher and pupil focus groups.

56.3% of pupils agreed the lesson was very interesting and 64.5% felt they learned something new and worthwhile. A minority felt motivated by the lesson (43.1%) or would recommend it to a friend (48.4%). The majority of pupils agreed they had developed life-skills; however these were not specific to the topic covered by their class. Content analysis of the focus groups identified four central themes - Acceptability, Guidance, Target Population and Changes - which largely reflected the quantitative results.

Overall, the lessons and booklets were well received by pupils and teachers: the design and language were popular and it functioned well as a group activity with pupils happy to discuss the majority of issues. The intervention has the potential to be popular, affordable and effective approach to school-based mental health interventions.