SMART: Transdiagnostic Treatment for Adolescents

The project was a randomized controlled trial conducted in routine clinical practice. The SMART intervention was tested as a six-session treatment programme for adolescents aged 14–17 with emotional difficulties.

Treatment effects were assessed at the end of treatment and at a six-month follow-up. The project also included an evaluation of CORE-OM as an outcome measure for adolescents with emotional difficulties. Work is ongoing on an article validating the Beck Depression Inventory for adolescents.

In 2022, Veronica Lorentzen defended her PhD thesis, Providing a Short and Effective Transdiagnostic Treatment Intervention and a Valid Outcome Measure for Adolescents with Anxiety and Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the SMART Intervention and Validation of the CORE-OM in Adolescents Aged 14 to 17, based on publications from the project.

The project was carried out in collaboration with Associate Professor Ingunn Berta Gjerdåker Skre, Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, email: ingunn.skre@uit.no; statistician/Senior Lecturer Bjørn Helge Handegård, RKBU Nord, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, email: bjorn.helge.handegaard@uit.no; and researcher Simon-Peter Neumer, RBUP Eastern and Southern Norway, email: simon-peter.neumer@r-bup.no.

Publications:

Lorentzen, V. (2022). Providing a short and effective transdiagnostic treatment intervention and a valid outcome measure for adolescent with anxiety and depression: A randomized controlled trial of the SMART intervention and validation of the CORE-OM in adolescents aged 14 to 17 [Doctoral thesis, UiT The Arctic University of Norway]. UiT Munin. https://hdl.handle.net/10037/27462

Lorentzen, V., Fagermo, K., Handegård, B. H., Skre, I., & Neumer, S.-P. (2020). A randomized controlled trial of a six-session cognitive behavioral treatment of emotional disorders in adolescents 14-17 years old in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). BMC Psychology, 8, Article 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-0393-x

Lorentzen, V., Handegård, B. H., Moen, C. M., Solem, K., Lillevoll, K., & Skre, I. (2020). CORE-OM as a routine outcome measure for adolescents with emotional disorders: Factor structure and psychometric properties. BMC Psychology, 8, Article 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00459-5

Financial support: Northern Norway Regional Health Authority

Collaborative project with the University Hospital in Northern Norway