Task-Shifting Adapted IPT-A for Youth Suicide Prevention

Summary

The goal of this randomized pragmatic clinical trial is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and mechanisms of change of a brief adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (BIPT-A), adapted and task-shifted to lay providers (mentors, youth trusted adults) in youth community centers (YCCs) as an upstream approach to suicide.

It focuses on Hispanic adolescents ages 12-17 enrolled in these YCCs. The pragmatic clinical trial will evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of adapted IPT-A delivered by mentors in YCCs and whether adapted BIPT-A impacts mechanisms of change (depressive symptoms, belongingness, and burdensomeness or feeling like a burden to others).

The main questions to answer are:

* Is adapted BIPT-A, when delivered by trained lay providers (youth mentors), feasible and acceptable in youth community centers?
* Does adapted BIPT-A, delivered by lay providers, change key risk factors (i.e., key mechanisms: depressive symptoms, low belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness) associated with suicide ideation? The investigators will compare adolescents randomized to adapted BIPT-A (6 sessions) delivered by a trained youth mentor with those receiving usual services at the community center (one individual session focused on active listening).

Participants will:

1. Be screened for subthreshold depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire Adolescent version (PHQ-A). Adolescent participants will be included if they score between 4 and 9 (mild depression). Participants with a PHQ-A score of 10 or higher (severe depression) will not be eligible and will be referred to a licensed mental health provider for appropriate care.
2. Be randomized to adapted BIPT-A or usual care. Adolescent participants in the intervention arm will participate in 6 weekly, adapted BIPT-A sessions with a trained youth mentor. Intervention focuses on education, affect identification, and interpersonal skills.

Conditions

• Suicidal Ideation
• Depressive Symptoms
• Adolescent Mental Health

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Adapted Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A LAZOS)

Adolescents in this intervention will receive 6 weekly sessions of an adapted brief version of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (BIPT-A), delivered by trained lay providers (i.e., youth mentors) in youth community centers. The adaptation used a community-participatory research approach to culturally and contextually meet the needs of immigrant-origin inner-city adolescents. The adapted intervention keeps core elements (education, affect identification, and interpersonal skills) and bolsters these skills to target belongingness and burdensomeness, which are factors associated with suicide ideation. Sessions follow a structured, manualized approach. The goal is to reduce depressive symptoms, increase sense of belongingness, and decrease perceived burdensomeness among adolescents with subthreshold depression (score between 4-9 in the PHQ-A).

OTHER

Usual Community Center Services

Participants in this arm will continue to receive the standard youth programs and services offered by the youth community centers, including mentoring, academic support, and recreational activities. They will not receive BIPT-A.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston College

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Carolina Vélez-Grau, PHD, LCSW · Boston College

• Laura Mufson, PhD · Columbia University

• Susan Witte, PhD · Columbia University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-08-01

Primary Completion

2027-12-01

Completion

2028-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations