title: Treatment of adolescents with depression: the effect of transference interventions in a randomized controlled study of dynamic psychotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression in adolescents seems to be a growing problem that causes mental suffering and prevents young people from joining the workforce. There is also a high risk of relapse during adult life. There is emerging evidence for the effect of psychodynamic psychotherapy in adolescents. In-session relational intervention (that is, transference intervention) is a key component of psychodynamic psychotherapy. However, whether depressed adolescents profit most from psychodynamic psychotherapy with or without transference interventions has not been stated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The effect of transference interventions in depressed adolescents and the moderator moderating effect of quality of object relations, personality disorder and gender will be explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  The First Experimental Study of Transference Work-In Teenagers (FEST-IT) will be a randomized clinical trial with a dismantling design. The study is aimed to explore the effects of transference work in psychodynamic psychotherapy for adolescents with depression. One hundred patients ages 16 to 18 years old will be randomized to one of two treatment groups, in both of which general psychodynamic techniques will be used. The patients will be treated over 28 weeks with either a moderate level of transference intervention or no transference intervention. Follow-up will be at 1 year after treatment termination. The outcome measures will be the Psychodynamic Functioning Scales (PFS), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex Version (IIP-C), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and the total mean score of Symptom Checklist-90 (Global Severity Index; GSI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Montgomery Åsberg Rating Scale (MADRS). The quality of adolescents' relationships will be a central focus of the study, and the Adolescent Relationship Scales (ARS) and Differentiation-Relatedness Scale (DRS) will also be used. Change will be assessed using linear-mixed models. Gender personality disorder (PD) and quality of object relations (QOR) will be the preselected putative moderators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The object of this clinical trial is to explore the effect of transference interventions in psychodynamic psychotherapy in adolescents with a major depressive disorder. Using a randomized and dismantling design, we hope that the study will add more specific knowledge to the evidence base.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01531101First Experimental Study of Transference work Work-In Teenagers (FEST-IT).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, Vinderen, PO Box 85 N-0319, Oslo, Norway. Randi.Ulberg@medisin.uio.no
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ulberg
authors.forename: Anne Grete
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Hersoug
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Høglend
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D057189:Checklist; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom