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The final year of secondary school has been shown to be associated with heightened student stress. Psychological interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing and preventing distress in students during this school period, although the widespread adoption of these interventions into school settings is limited. There have been recent calls for research to examine the implementation success of evidence‐based programmes when used by schools in school settings. The present study aimed to evaluate the implementation success of an evidence‐based cognitive‐behavioural therapy programme (Study without Stress) using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE‐AIM) framework. At one Australian high school, all tutor group teachers were trained by the school counsellor to deliver the programme in standard school classes to students in the lead up to their final year of secondary school. Students (n = 80) and teachers (n = 11) reported on programme success against the RE‐AIM framework at pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, and three‐month follow‐up. The findings indicated that SWOS was implemented successfully by the school. SWOS was associated with maintaining student stress levels at normal levels over time, as well as reducing the severity of stress for initially highly distressed students. The findings provide evidence from implementation science that SWOS can be adapted and delivered effectively by school staff to manage stress in final year secondary school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study assessed the long‐term symptom relapse rates among older adults previously treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety and/or depression during COVID‐19. Methods: Participants were 37 older adults (M = 75 years, SD = 5; 65% female) previously treated with CBT for anxiety and/or unipolar depression who were re‐assessed an average of 5.6 years later, during the first Australian COVID‐19 lockdown. Results: On average, there was no significant group‐level change in anxiety, depression or quality of life. When assessing change in symptoms based on clinical cut‐off points on self‐report measures, results suggest only 17%‐22% showed a relapse of symptoms by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusions: Findings suggest that CBT may be protective in coping with life stressors many years after treatment ends. However, results warrant replication to attribute continued symptom improvement to CBT given the lack of control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Stepped care models are a possible solution to address service gaps in the provision of psychological therapies for anxiety and/or depression. The benefits may be particularly relevant for people in rural and remote areas and other under‐serviced and/or hard to reach populations, such as older adults. Design: Narrative literature review. Participants: Narrative literature review of the PubMed, Medline, and Psycinfo databases for studies reporting on the results of stepped care psychological interventions for older adults with anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. Main outcomes: Seventy‐seven papers were identified for evaluation of which nine papers met the study criteria (reporting on four individual trials). Results: We identified four controlled studies. Three of the four studies found stepped care intervention to be associated with significantly better clinical outcomes and cost‐effectiveness compared to treatment as usual. Studies primarily targeted subthreshold symptoms, mostly in primary care. Various interventions and stepping models were used. Conclusion: Stepped care has been associated with improved clinical outcomes and costs in older adults, particularly in primary care. There have been no rigorous studies of stepped delivery of psychological interventions to older depressed and anxious adults in alternative settings such as in specialist older adult mental health services or in private clinics. Although the evidence‐base for stepped care interventions is growing, it is not clear what evidence‐based treatment model should be adopted and in what services it could apply. More research is needed. However, the evidence to date is promising and suggests that stepped care approaches are feasible in older adults, and are likely to increase access to high quality interventions for older adults living in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]