Evaluation of Psychological Intervention for Parents of Adolescents

This study is the next step in the evaluation trajectory of the Open Door Approach to Parenting Teenagers (APT), and is a randomised controlled trial investigating whether receiving APT is more effective than being on a Waiting List (WL) in a sample of 60 parents of adolescents. We hypothesise that in comparison to those on the WL, those receiving APT will show significant improvements in: ‐ parental stress; ‐ parent‐adolescent relationship; ‐ adolescent and parent wellbeing and mental health outcomes; Secondary aims of the study will include: ‐ Ascertaining treatment fidelity ‐ Disseminating outcomes to inform policymakers, commissioners and providers, to facilitate evidence‐based decisions about community services. Procedure This trial will be carried out at two clinical sites in North London over 12months. Method: Parents and adolescents in the APT condition will be measured 3 times: at baseline, end‐of‐treatment, and follow‐ups at three after the end‐of‐treatment. Those in WL will be measured three times from pre‐treatment to three months follow‐up. Then they will be offered APT. Measures are grouped into four batteries: for the parent, the adolescent, the therapist and an observer, and they will measure changes in parental stress, perceptions of the parent about their adolescent's psychopathology and relational problems, aspects of parenting relevant to aetiology and treatment of adolescent issues. The batteries also include variables mediating recovery, therapeutic alliance, health services utilisation and therapists' adherence to the ATP model. Analysis plan: The primary outcome will be analysed using within‐ and between‐groups mean differences to estimate treatment effects. Results will be disseminated through scientific papers, academic conferences, the Open Door (OD) website, and reports will be distributed among educational and health institutions in our local network. If results have merit, the intervention manual will be published, and training will be offered to professionals outside OD. If successful, we anticipate this study to have a major impact on communities around the UK. It is a non‐proprietary intervention that can be easily disseminated.