Discovering Adolescents' Talents and Life Projects as a Key Factor in Their Life Satisfaction

Summary

Recent data show a deterioration in the mental health of adolescents, with an increase in anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, and a significant increase in suicides. Psychological distress may be related to the absence of a life project that provides motivation, satisfaction, and direction in their lives, and allows the formation of an integrated sense of personal identity, along with a projection of improvement in abilities. An intervention aimed at enhancing the life project of adolescents could increase their life satisfaction and, secondarily, improve their mental health. The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a structured intervention oriented towards the discovery and development of personal talents can have a strong positive impact on the life satisfaction and mental health of adolescents.

The Spanish versions of the Satisfaction with Life Scale and Young Person-Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation scales will be used to evaluate life satisfaction and psychological distress of participants before and after the intervention. In addition, the Geniotype questionnaire will be used to explore and enhance the participants' personal talents.

The full intervention comprises eight sessions based on Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy (HIP). It includes one session with Explore Your Meanings (EYME), an immersive digital platform based on the repertory grid technique aimed to enhance the success of therapeutic work and improve personal capabilities.

Researchers will compare the full intervention, with an intervention in which the Geniotype questionnaire is substituted by a somatic symptoms questionnaire (with no implications for the talents of the participant) to see if the Geniotype identification works to increase life satisfaction and reduce psychological distress. The control group will be a non-active waiting list.

Participants will attend eight weekly, one-hour sessions of a psychological intervention including Geniotype or a somatic symptoms questionnaire or remain in a waiting list for 2 months.

Conditions

• Healthy
• Adolescent Development

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental: Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy and Identity Exploration (HIP+EYME)

Eight weekly, one-hour sessions based on HIP (including techniques such as analyzing transactions, recognizing ego states, script analysis, letter to my future self --10 years from now, psychoeducation on emotional intelligence, chair work with subpersonalities, fearful scene work, imaginal work with the life project) and the immersive exploration of personal identity using EYME.

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental: Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy, Identity, and Geniotype Exploration (HIP+EYME+GENIOTYPE)

Eight weekly, one-hour sessions based on HIP (including techniques such as analyzing transactions, recognizing ego states, script analysis, letter to my future self --10 years from now, psychoeducation on emotional intelligence, chair work with subpersonalities, fearful scene work, imaginal work with the life project) and the immersive exploration of personal identity using EYME. Also, participants will answer the Geniotype questionnaire and the results will be worked with the adolescents.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Barcelona

  collaborator OTHER

• Centre Besai

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Maria Beltrán, BS Psych · Centre Besai

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-05

Primary Completion

2025-06-30

Completion

2025-12-30

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations