The feasibility of low-intensity psychological therapy for depression co-occurring with autism in adults: The Autism Depression Trial study - a pilot randomised controlled trial. Russell, A., Gaunt, D. M., Cooper, K., Barton, S., Horwood, J., Kessler, D., Metcalfe, C., Ensum, I., Ingham, B., Parr, J. R., Rai, D., & Wiles, N. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, November, 2019.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
Low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy including behavioural activation is an evidence-based treatment for depression, a condition frequently co-occurring with autism. The feasibility of adapting low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy for depression to meet the needs of autistic adults via a randomised controlled trial was investigated. The adapted intervention (guided self-help) comprised materials for nine individual sessions with a low-intensity psychological therapist. Autistic adults (n = 70) with depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ⩾10) recruited from National Health Service adult autism services and research cohorts were randomly allocated to guided self-help or treatment as usual. Outcomes at 10-, 16- and 24-weeks post-randomisation were blind to treatment group. Rates of retention in the study differed by treatment group with more participants attending follow-up in the guided self-help group than treatment as usual. The adapted intervention was well-received, 86% (n = 30/35) of participants attended the pre-defined 'dose' of five sessions of treatment and 71% (25/35) attended all treatment sessions. The findings of this pilot randomised controlled trial indicate that low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy informed by behavioural activation can be successfully adapted to meet the needs of autistic people. Evaluation of the effectiveness of this intervention in a full scale randomised controlled trial is now warranted.
@article{russell_feasibility_2019,
	title = {The feasibility of low-intensity psychological therapy for depression co-occurring with autism in adults: {The} {Autism} {Depression} {Trial} study - a pilot randomised controlled trial},
	issn = {1461-7005},
	shorttitle = {The feasibility of low-intensity psychological therapy for depression co-occurring with autism in adults},
	doi = {10.1177/1362361319889272},
	abstract = {Low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy including behavioural activation is an evidence-based treatment for depression, a condition frequently co-occurring with autism. The feasibility of adapting low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy for depression to meet the needs of autistic adults via a randomised controlled trial was investigated. The adapted intervention (guided self-help) comprised materials for nine individual sessions with a low-intensity psychological therapist. Autistic adults (n = 70) with depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ⩾10) recruited from National Health Service adult autism services and research cohorts were randomly allocated to guided self-help or treatment as usual. Outcomes at 10-, 16- and 24-weeks post-randomisation were blind to treatment group. Rates of retention in the study differed by treatment group with more participants attending follow-up in the guided self-help group than treatment as usual. The adapted intervention was well-received, 86\% (n = 30/35) of participants attended the pre-defined 'dose' of five sessions of treatment and 71\% (25/35) attended all treatment sessions. The findings of this pilot randomised controlled trial indicate that low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy informed by behavioural activation can be successfully adapted to meet the needs of autistic people. Evaluation of the effectiveness of this intervention in a full scale randomised controlled trial is now warranted.},
	language = {eng},
	journal = {Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice},
	author = {Russell, Ailsa and Gaunt, Daisy M. and Cooper, Kate and Barton, Stephen and Horwood, Jeremy and Kessler, David and Metcalfe, Chris and Ensum, Ian and Ingham, Barry and Parr, Jeremy R. and Rai, Dheeraj and Wiles, Nicola},
	month = nov,
	year = {2019},
	pmid = {31782656},
	keywords = {adults, autism, cognitive behaviour therapy, depression},
	pages = {1362361319889272},
}

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