Rose Mortimer

The need to account for adolescents’ views during the design and development of therapeutic interventions is well documented, yet there remains a paucity of research doing so, particularly among internet-based therapies. This study aimed to address this by exploring adolescents’ expectations and experience of an internet-based psychodynamic therapy (I-PDT) for adolescent depression. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematically analysed. From this, five overarching and interrelated themes were identified: ‘negative expectation’, ‘strong therapeutic relationship’, ‘significant commitment’, ‘facilitated change’, and ‘gained appreciation’. The prominent effect of personal characteristics was also evident, whereby those young people who were highly motivated, or less confident, spoke most positively of their experience. The findings support government policies to increase availability of digitally enabled models of therapy, by highlighting adolescents’ positive experiences. However, the impact of individual characteristics and working styles on adolescents’ experiences signals that internet-based therapies may not be suitable for all. Young people may benefit from a range of different treatment options, able to meet their various needs and preferences.

Internet-based treatments have been developed for youth mental health difficulties, with promising results. However, little is known about the features of therapeutic alliance, and how it is established and maintained, in text-based interactions between adolescents and therapists in internet-based treatments. This study uses data collected during a pilot evaluation of a psychodynamic internet-based therapy for depressed adolescents. The adolescents had instant-messaging chats with their therapists once a week, over 10 weeks. The adolescents also rated the therapeutic alliance each week, using the Session Alliance Inventory. The present study uses qualitative methods to analyse transcripts of text-based communication between the young people and their therapists. The aim is to identify and describe the key features of therapeutic alliance, and reflect upon the implications for theory and clinical practice. Analysis identified three ‘values’ that may underpin a strong therapeutic alliance: togetherness, agency and hope. A number of therapist techniques were also found, which seemed to create a sense of these values during text-chat sessions. These findings are discussed, alongside implications for future research.

Internet-based psychodynamic psychotherapy (iPDT) for adolescents has been found to be effective for treating depression, but not much is known about its active ingredients. Objective: To explore the techniques used in chat sessions in an iPDT program for depressed adolescents, and to investigate whether they predicted improvement in depression symptoms. Method: The study uses data collected from a pilot study. The iPDT consisted of 8 modules delivered over 10 weeks that included text, video, exercises, and a weekly text-based chat session with a therapeutic support worker (TSW). The participants were 23 adolescents meeting criteria for depression. The TSWs were 9 psychology master’s students. A depression inventory QIDS-A17-SR was filled weekly by the participants, and a self-rated techniques inventory (MULTI-30) was filled by the TSWs after each chat session. Results: Common factor techniques were the most widely used techniques in the chat sessions. Both common factors and psychodynamic techniques predicted improvement in depression, with psychodynamic techniques predicting improvement at the following week. CBT techniques were also used but did not predict improvement in depression. Conclusion: iPDT seem to work in line with theory, where the mechanisms thought to be important for change in treatment were predictive of outcome.

Purpose: This paper reports on insights from an evaluation of Birth Companions (BC) (a UK-based charity) perinatal support in two prison settings in England. The initiative involved the provision of group and/or one-to-one perinatal support and training women prisoners as peer supporters. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods study was undertaken that involved observations of support groups and peer support supervision sessions (n = 9); audio recorded interviews (n = 33) with prison and health-care staff, women in prison, peer supporters and BC staff; analysis of existing routinely collected data by BC and notes undertaken during regular meetings (n = 10) with the BC Project Manager. Thematic analysis was undertaken supported by MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software. Findings: BC provided instrumental/practical support, emotional support, information support, signposting to services and advocating for women to the prison concerning their perinatal needs and rights. Key themes revealed that support had an impact on the lives of perinatal women by creating a safe place characterised by meaningful interactions and women-centred approaches that facilitated access to wider care and support. The service made a difference by empowering women and providing added value for peer supporters, prison, health-care and BC staff. Key enablers and strategies for the care of perinatal women and the delivery of perinatal support are also detailed. Originality/value: Through longitudinal data and the involvement of a range of stakeholders, this study evidences the subtleties of support provided by BC and the potential it has to make a difference to perinatal women in prison and those volunteering or working within the prison system.

Introduction: Face-to-face therapy is unavailable to many young people with mental health difficulties in the UK. Internet-based treatments are a low-cost, flexible, and accessible option that may be acceptable to young people. This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an English-language adaptation of internet-based psychodynamic treatment (iPDT) for depressed adolescents, undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Methods: A single-group, uncontrolled design was used. A total of 23 adolescents, 16–18 years old and experiencing depression, were recruited to this study. Assessments were made at baseline and end of treatment, with additional weekly assessments of depression and anxiety symptoms. Results: Findings showed that it was feasible to recruit to this study during the pandemic, and to deliver the iPDT model with a good level of treatment acceptability. A statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms and emotion dysregulation was found, with large effect size, by the end of treatment. Whilst anxiety symptoms decreased, this did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: The findings suggest that this English-language adaptation of iPDT, with some further revisions, is feasible to deliver and acceptable for adolescents with depression. Preliminary data indicate that iPDT appears to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms in adolescents.

Evidence demonstrates the deleterious impact of ongoing and poorly resolved parental conflict on children’s wellbeing. ‘No Kids in the Middle’ (NKM) is a multi‐family programme that aims to help high‐conflict separated parents find new ways of communicating. The aim of this study was to adapt, deliver and evaluate NKM in three UK pilot sites. This paper reports findings from interviews exploring families’ experiences of this intervention, and questionnaires which measured change for families over the course of the programme. Parents reported reductions in hostility and conflict when discussing parenting issues. Children reported improved wellbeing with respect to family life, and a reduction in ‘avoidance’ with respect to talking or thinking about parental conflict. Parents reported reduced internalising symptoms in children. The findings indicate that NKM could be a promising intervention for high‐conflict separated parents and their children, deliverable by frontline practitioners. Practitioner points: Inter‐parental conflict can negatively impact children’s wellbeing Multi‐family therapy may be a promising approach for separated parents experiencing co‐parenting conflict After the NKM multi‐family programme, parents reported reduced levels of hostility and conflict when discussing parenting issues At the end of the NKM programme, children reported improved wellbeing with respect to family life, and a reduction in ‘avoidance’ with respect to talking or thinking about family conflict. Relatedly, parents reported reduced internalising symptoms in children

This paper discusses the findings of qualitative research that examined the accounts of five “mostly recovered” ex-patients who had experienced transition between two or more eating disorder diagnoses. This study found that, in the minds of participants, the different diagnostic labels were associated with various good or bad character traits. This contributed to the belief in a diagnostic hierarchy, whereby individuals diagnosed with anorexia nervosa were viewed as morally better than those diagnosed with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. Consequently, diagnostic crossover from a “better” to a “worse” eating disorder was often experienced as shameful moral failing, and a new diagnosis impacted the individual’s sense of self-identity. These findings are of significance for both ethicists and clinicians; the paper concludes by outlining the relevance and possible clinical implications of shame in diagnostic crossover and suggesting avenues for future research.

(2019). Philosophical Bioethics in the Policy Arena: A Response to Open Peer Commentaries on “Just Policy? An Ethical Analysis of Early Intervention Policy Guidance”. The American Journal of Bioethics: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. W14-W18.

Early intervention (EI) aims to identify children or families at risk of poor health, and take preventative measures at an early stage, when intervention is more likely to succeed. EI is concerned with the just distribution of "life chances," so that all children are given fair opportunity to realize their potential and lead a good life; EI policy design, therefore, invokes ethical questions about the balance of responsibilities between the state, society, and individuals in addressing inequalities. We analyze a corpus of EI policy guidance to investigate explicit and implicit ethical arguments about who should be held morally responsible for safeguarding child health and well-being. We examine the implications of these claims and explore what it would mean to put the proposed policies into practice. We conclude with some remarks about the useful role that philosophical analysis can play in EI policy development.