Table 1 Contents of MICHI sessions

Session 1

• Get to know each other

• Postcards with different emotional motifs were displayed, and participants were encouraged to choose one that represented their depression best

• Psychoeducation about symptoms of depression

• Related to the postcards, each participant was asked to tell his/her symptoms, and group leaders highlighted typical symptoms of depression

• Homework: participants were asked to

- Think about individual possible causes for their depressive symptoms

- Conduct a positive activity each day and to evaluate how it affects their mood

- Bring an object to the next session that represents something they are good at/proud of (e.g., football)

Session 2

• Resource activation

• Participants showed the object they brought that represented something they were good at/ proud of

• Input about relationship between thoughts, behaviour, and feelings

• Participants were asked to name additional strengths and resources

• Psychoeducation a bout causations of depression

• Psychoeducation about causation of depression (e.g., neurotransmitters, genetics, stressors)

• Homework: participants were asked to

- Focus on a positive and negative moment each day and to note down their behaviour, thoughts, and feelings in each moment

- Note down compliments they receive or positive moments that happen to them in a diary

Session 3

• Enhancement of self-esteem

• Participants threw each other a ball, and each time they caught the ball they were asked to name a certain individual strength

• Increase of behavioural activation

• Participants were invited to write each other compliments in their diaries

• Psychoeducation about dysfunctional cognitions

• Input about the importance of positive self-esteem

• Input about how errors in reasoning, e.g., dichotomous thinking, negatively influences how one feels

Session 4

• Repetition of contents

• Participants listened to an audiotaped interview with a depressed girl who talked about her symptoms, and were asked to give her advice about what she could do to feel better, taking into account what they learned in MICHI so far

• Management of acute crises

• Emotion regulation

• Discussion and input about how to behave in case of crises (e.g., suicidal ideation)

• Restructuring of dysfunctional cognitions

• Identification of helpful skills

• Input about how to recognize negative thoughts and how to turn them into positive ones

Session 5

• Problem-solving skills prevention of relapse

• Participants learned how to solve problems in a theoretical stepwise manner; afterwards, they watched a video about a girl who is being bullied, and were asked how they would solve a problem like the one of the protagonist, taking into account the stepwise manner of problem-solving they learned before

• Participants brought a person of trust

• Conversation about how persons of trust can support participants in the future to prevent relapse

Booster session 6

• Recapitulation of contents of MICHI

• Contents of MICHI were repeated by means of a quiz

• Each participant was asked to recapitulate his/her mood since the last session of MICHI

• In case they found themselves in a depressed mood, they were asked whether they were able to apply elements of MICHI to prevent themselves from relapse

• Participants were given a written case report of a depressed boy and were asked to advise him what he could do to feel better with reference to the contents learned in MICHI