Integrative Community Therapy – interventive strategies in the reduction of depression symptoms in adolescents: A quasi‐experimental study

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Integrative Community Therapy on depression symptoms in adolescents in the school context. This is a quantitative, quasi‐experimental, pre‐, and post‐test study that compared depression scores before and after the Integrative Community Therapy intervention was applied, conducted with 56 adolescent students. The guidelines recommended by the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence were used to present this study. The instruments used for data collection were the following: Participants' characterization, Economic Classification, and the Children's Depression Inventory. This depression inventory was applied before and after the intervention was carried out. Most of the participants presented depressive symptoms (53.6%). Girls presented higher depression scores and were more likely to develop depression; to be working proved to be a protective factor for depression and adolescents with depression symptoms presented a higher proportion of suicidal ideation. The analysis of the depression variable indicated a reduction of the scores in the post‐intervention period; however, in the gender analysis, there was a reduction in the depression scores only for the girls. The Integrative Community Therapy was an effective intervention in reducing depression scores, being a relevant strategy for healthcare services and schools in assisting adolescents to deal with their emotions, mitigate psycho‐emotional suffering, and contribute as a support tool in the context of vulnerabilities inherent to the process of becoming an adolescent.

Integrative community therapy for the promotion of mental health in adolescents: A quasi‐experimental study

“…In the evaluation based on sex, ICT was effective for both sexes on the total SDQ score, but for the hyperactivity and relationship issues subscales, ICT was effective only for female adolescents. Other studies have also found differences in the effects of ICT based on sex in the assessment of anxiety (Alves, Felipe, Bressan, et al, 2021), and depression (Alves, Felipe, & da Moreira, 2021), with a significant reduction in symptoms for female adolescents only.…”

“…Studies evaluating the effects of ICT on the adolescent population are scarce, which highlights the need for further research on this intervention with this population. However, the literature has already reported the positive effects of ICT on adolescent mental health, such as a decrease in depression (Alves, Felipe, & da Moreira, 2021) and anxiety (Alves, Felipe, Bressan, et al, 2021). Other studies in different contexts and with populations have also evidenced the positive effects of ICT in reducing depression and anxiety in college students (Boaretto et al, 2020; De Brum & Teixeira, 2020) and in drug addicts (Lemes et al, 2020).…”

“…ICT performed with adolescents has proved to be a valuable interventional resource for mental health promotion (Felipe et al, 2020), by reducing symptoms of anxiety (Alves, Felipe, Bressan, et al, 2021) and depression (Alves, Felipe, & da Moreira, 2021). However, quantitative research evaluating the effects of ICT is scarce (de Azevedo et al, 2013), especially among adolescents; furthermore, mental health services dedicated to adolescents are scarce and difficult to access in many countries (American Psychological Association, 2017), and this also applies to the Brazilian context (De Pessoa et al, 2020).…”

Evaluation of Integrative Community Therapy with Domestic Violence Survivors in Quito, Ecuador

“…In both reviews all studies were published in Brazil, mostly within nursing, and relied on qualitative methodologies. One nursing study, however, employed a pre-post test design (no comparison group) and found that ICT was associated with a reduction of depression over a five-week period for girls [ 40 ]. Overall, more rigorous testing of ICT is needed.…”

Efeito da terapia comunitária integrativa na qualidade de vida de adolescentes escolares

“…Nesse sentido, a Terapia Comunitária Integrativa (TCI), uma intervenção psicossocial criada no Brasil pelo psiquiatra Adalberto Barreto (BARRETO, 2019), pode ser um importante recurso para melhoria da qualidade de vida (CARTONILHO DE SOUZA RAMOS; LÚCIA BASILIO CARNEIRO; NUNES AZEVEDO DE MELO, 2020;NUNES et al, 2015;SILVA FRANCO et al, 2020). Destaca-se que a TCI tem sido eficaz na promoção da saúde emocional dos adolescentes (ALVES et al, 2021;ALVES;FELIPE;MOREIRA, 2021;FELIPE et al, 2020), que é um dos determinantes para a qualidade de vida (OPAS, 2018). Além disso, a TCI permite a criação de um ambiente de apoio, fortalece o vínculo entre os participantes e a capacidade de adaptação aos diferentes conflitos e problemas, é uma estratégia interventiva realizada em grupos mediante cinco etapas definidas: acolhimento, escolha do tema, contextualização, problematização e encerramento (BARRETO, 2019).…”