Community-Based Integrated Treatment for Adolescents

Studies have consistently shown that alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and mental health disorders are related in adolescence. For example, in a community sample, teens who reported a history of AUD were almost four times as likely to have a history of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) than teens with no history of AUD. The scientific community has only recently begun to examine how to treat adolescents with both AUD and MDD. Reviews have concluded that depression negatively affects treatment for substance abuse. At the same time, substance use issues are often not assessed or addressed in outpatient psychotherapy. Thus, we believe that protocols are needed to specifically address substance abusing, depressed adolescents. This study is designed to determine if an integrated (CBT-I) protocol designed to treat both substance use and depression in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with AUD/MDD will produce better treatment outcomes compared to standard care (CBT-SC). Both the integrated CBT-I and CBT-SC conditions will be delivered by licensed mental health workers at a community mental health clinic - Gateway - that uses an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) model to treat adolescents with AUD and mental health disorders. Two hundred adolescents (50 per year for 4 years) will be recruited from Gateway's Dual Diagnosis IOP. If an adolescent screens in by reporting both depressed mood and substance abuse, these eligible families will complete a thorough baseline assessment and will then be assigned to either CBT-I or CBT-SC. The baseline battery will be repeated at the end of treatment, and 6 and 12 months after treatment completion to determine how families in the study do over time.