Behavioural Interventions for Mental Health Problems in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Adolescents are increasingly affected by mental health challenges, especially anxiety and depression, which require early behavioural interventions. This paper reviews four main types of behavioural interventions, i.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs), family and school-based interventions and digital interventions, and summarises their impacts and limitations. While each demonstrates positive effects on improving adolescent mental health, current research lacks standardised evaluation tools, longitudinal data and under-representative populations. Comparative insights indicate that existing interventions often operate in isolated domains, such as treatment, family, school, or digital domains, leading to reduced overall effectiveness. To address this, Dynamic Ecosystem Adaptation through Allostasis (DEA-A), an ecosystem approach, is proposed to integrate multiple interventions. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research focusing on developing a multi-level, personalised intervention system grounded in standardised and long-term assessment. Such a holistic approach may enhance both the effectiveness and sustainability of adolescent mental health therapy.