Stellenbosch University: Developing and assessing the acceptability and feasibility of a CBT-based psychoeducational intervention to support psychological well-being amongst adolescents in the Western Cape, South Africa

In South Africa, where access to mental health services is poor, the risk of developing mental health issues among children and adolescents is high. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to implement cost-, and time-effective interventions to address these issues in child-friendly, and child-accessible settings. Evidence suggests that CBT-based interventions have potential to mitigate the onset of mental illness by addressing symptoms of anxiety and depression in younger children, and thus may be considered primary preventative interventions. We aim to determine the acceptability and feasibility of a culturally-specific and context-sensitive CBT-based psychoeducational programme to support psychological well-being amongst children and adolescents (11-14 years) in an impoverished area of the Western Cape. As such, our study seeks to develop (using core CBT principles of existing evidence-based programmes) a school-based universal intervention to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression amongst adolescents and to determine if this intervention is acceptable and can feasibly be delivered by NGO school-based counsellors. We will: \- Develop a CBT-based intervention programme for anxiety and depression. \- Train NGO counsellors to deliver and pilot the intervention to primarily establish feasibility and acceptability, and, as a secondary outcome, preliminary effectiveness at reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Programme: Seed Award in Science

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