Case Series Evaluation of ADepT adapted for features of autism
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Case series evaluation of ADepT for autistic adults (including those without a formal diagnosis)
IRAS ID
361068
Contact name
Barney Dunn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
Depression is common, causes significant distress, makes it hard to have a sense of wellbeing, and function fully in everyday life. Autistic adults are four times more likely to experience depression in their lifetime compared to typically developed adults. Autistic adults with depression have been found to benefit less from the currently available psychological therapies for depression in NHS Talking Therapies (NHS-TT) services. This highlights the need to develop and evaluate new approaches for autistic adults with depression.
People with depression experience more negative emotions and thoughts, and experience fewer positive emotions and thoughts including feeling content and experiencing wellbeing. Both need to improve if people are to fully recover. Current talking treatments are useful in repairing negative emotions but are less good at re-building positive emotions. Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) was co-designed with people with lived-experience of depression and has an equal focus on building positivity (including building wellbeing) and reducing negativity (such as having negative thoughts). Previous work shows that ADepT successfully reduces negative emotions and builds positive emotions in adults with depression, leading to reductions in the symptoms of depression as well as large increases in wellbeing.
This research will begin to evaluate if ADepT can also help autistic adults with depression. Up to fifteen adults with an autism diagnosis and/or scoring above a cut off on a autism screening measure and suffering from depression will be offered ADepT at the AccEPT clinic, Devon. We will evaluate if it is effective using a ‘case series’ methodology, tracking changes in depression and anxiety symptoms and wellbeing in the weeks before, during and after treatment. We will also invite people who received ADepT to take part in an interview to discuss their experiences of treatment.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0192
Date of REC Opinion
23 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion