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Depression is a common psychological problem in adolescence. Recent research suggests that group cognitive-behavioral interventions can reduce and prevent symptoms of depression in youth. Few studies have tested the effectiveness of such interventions when delivered by school teachers and counselors (as opposed to research team staff). We evaluated the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program for adolescents (PRP-A), a school-based group intervention that targets cognitive behavioral risk factors for depression. We randomly assigned 408 middle school students (ages 10-15) to one of three conditions: PRP-A, PRP-AP (in which adolescents participated in PRP-A and parents were invited to attend a parent intervention component), or a school-as-usual control. Adolescents completed measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, cognitive style, and coping at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. PRP-A reduced depression symptoms relative to the school as usual control. Baseline levels of hopelessness moderated intervention effects. Among participants with average and high levels of hopelessness, PRP (A and AP) significantly improved depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, and active coping relative to control. Among participants with low baseline hopelessness, we found no intervention effects. PRP-AP was not more effective than PRP-A alone. We found no intervention effects on clinical levels of depression or anxiety. These findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral interventions can be beneficial when delivered by school teachers and counselors. These interventions may be most helpful to students with elevated hopelessness.

Objective This qualitative study was conducted as part of a larger randomized trial to examine barriers and facilitators to accessing and providing comprehensive primary health care for individuals with serious mental illnesses. We examined the perspectives of administrators and providers in a behavioral health organization surrounding the use of a nurse practitioner model of delivering primary healthcare. Methods Ten key informant interviews were conducted and analyzed using qualitative data analysis software. Concepts and themes regarding access to and delivery of primary healthcare were inductively derived from the data. Results Results confirmed significant issues related to chronic physical health problems among individuals with psychiatric disabilities and detailed a host of barriers to receiving health care as well as the perceived benefits of the nurse practitioner intervention. Financial challenges played a significant role in the organization's ability to make primary and mental health care integration a sustainable endeavor. In addition, staff faced increased burdens on their time due to adding a focus on physical health to their existing job duties. Conclusions and implications for practice A nurse practitioner stationed in a behavioral healthcare setting is viewed by administrators and providers as extremely beneficial in addressing issues of access to comprehensive and integrated primary healthcare for individuals with severe psychiatric disabilities but sustaining such a model of care is not without organizational challenges.

Two studies examined the hypothesis that recollections of parents’ child-rearing behaviors on the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI: Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979) are influenced by current mood. Study 1 investigated the effects of sad versus neutral mood induction on PBI scores in 50 college students. Participants rated their parents as less caring following the sad mood induction than following the neutral induction. Study 2 investigated the effects of naturally occurring changes in depressive symptoms on PBI scores over a two month period. Changes in depressive symptoms correlated with changes in father care scores and tended to correlate with changes in mother care scores. Findings from both studies suggest that retrospective reports of parenting are susceptible to mood bias and highlight the limits of using cross sectional designs to explore the relationship between parenting and depression.

There are a number of barriers that contribute to the low employment rates of people with mental health disabilities; these barriers exist at the individual level, the programs and services level, and the systems, policy, and societal level (Anthony et al. 2002). One issue that intersects with all three is disclosure of psychiatric disability in the workplace. Individuals with mental health disabilities must weigh the personal benefits and risks of disclosing their psychiatric disability and make a number of decisions about disclosure given their particular employment circumstances. In addition, employment programs and services, and especially supported employment practitioners, must determine how to represent their services to employers, decide how to inform employers that they work with people with mental health disabilities, and plan with the individual to handle disclosure. Employers must be aware of state and federal policies regarding disability-related employment issues in the face of societal stereotypes, personal experiences with, and misunderstandings about people with mental health disabilities. And while legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA 1990) is in place to protect rightful access to employment, people with mental health difficulties may have little knowledge or understanding of these policies or how disclosure of disability and reasonable accommodations may allow them to enjoy full access to employment opportunities.

Aristotle’s words suggest that humans have long been interested in how best to manage their emotional and social lives. Most recognize that their emotional reactions to events have signi - cant impact on their social interactions and effectiveness. Many have considered the question of how individuals or groups of individuals might acquire more effective ways of regulating their emotional responses or social relations. Others prefer to frame the question in terms of how individuals or groups learn to guide their behavior in correct or virtuous ways. Many have looked to traditional educational environments as places to make progress towards these aims. Indeed, as one of the primary cultural institutions responsible for transmitting information and values from one generation to the next, schools have typically been involved in attending to the social-emotional well-being and moral direction of their students, in addition to their intellectual achievements.