Greg Clarke, PhD, has focused much of his research on the prevention and treatment of depression, suicide, anxiety, and insomnia in both adults and youth, as well as population-level mental health improvement through the use of telehealth and e-health interventions (e.g., websites, smartphone apps).
Dr. Clarke has been the principal investigator and co-investigator on over two dozen grants funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, conducting controlled-outcome trials of treatment and prevention in at-risk populations. Some of his most recent controlled trials have examined approaches to preventing suicidal behaviors and deaths in at-risk youth and adults, treating insomnia in depressed youth to improve mood outcomes, medication and psychotherapy treatment of depression in adolescents who have failed to respond to an initial antidepressant medication, simultaneous insomnia treatment and antidepressant medication for depressed youth, and Internet self-care programs for depressed adults and adolescents.
Dr. Clarke received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon in 1985 and has conducted mental health research for more than 30 years.
Selected Current Studies
- Large Pragmatic Trial to Prevent Suicide Attempts, Deaths in Moderate-to-High-Risk Youth (PCORI)
- An Efficacy-Effectiveness Trial of Stepped Care for Suicide Prevention in Youth—STEP2Health (NIMH)
- Pragmatic Suicide Prevention Outreach Trial—SPOT (NIMH)
- CBT-Insomnia Augmenting Usual Care SSRIs to Improve Youth Depression Outcomes—SleepWell (NIMH))
- An Efficacy-Effectiveness Trial of Cognitive Bias Modification for Youth Anxiety—ReThink (NIMH)
Selected Publications
- Reetz S, Clarke G, Weersing R, Amir N, Dickerson J, Lynch FL, Leo MC, Rawlings AM, Lee MH, Gille S. The ReThink study: a 3-arm parallel randomized trial of cognitive bias modification, with and without adherence promotion, for adolescent anxiety disorder: trial design and protocol. BMC Psychiatry. 2019 Oct 22;19(1):306. doi: 10.1186/s12888-019-2296-z. PMID: 31640613
- Penfold RB, Johnson E, Shortreed SM, Ziebell RA, Lynch FL, Clarke GN, Coleman KJ, Waitzfelder BE, Beck AL, Rossom RC, Ahmedani BK, Simon GE. Predicting suicide attempts and suicide deaths among adolescents following outpatient visits. J Affect Disord. 2021 Nov 1;294:39-47. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.057. Epub 2021 Jul 1. PMID: 34265670
- Clarke G, Sheppler CR, Firemark AJ, Rawlings AM, Dickerson JF, Leo MC. Augmenting usual care SSRIs with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia to improve depression outcomes in youth: Design of a randomized controlled efficacy-effectiveness trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2020 Apr;91:105967. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2020.105967. Epub 2020 Feb 28. PMID: 32114185
- Brent DA, Brunwasser SM, Hollon SD, Weersing VR, Clarke GN, Dickerson JF, Beardslee WR, Gladstone TR, Porta G, Lynch FL, Iyengar S, Garber J. Effect of a cognitive-behavioral prevention program on depression 6 years after implementation among at-risk adolescents: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Nov;72(11):1110-8. PMCID: PMC4635056
- Clarke G, McGlinchey EL, Hein K, Gullion CM, Dickerson JF, Leo MC, Harvey AG. Cognitive-behavioral treatment of insomnia and depression in adolescents: A pilot randomized trial. Behav Res Ther. 2015; 69:111-8. PMCID: PMC4418229
- Richardson LP, Ludman E, McCauley E, Lindenbaum J, Larison C, Zhou C, Clarke G, Brent D, Katon W. Collaborative care for adolescents with depression in primary care: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014 Aug 27;312(8):809-16. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.9259. PMID: 25157724
- Garber J, Clarke GN, Weersing VR, Beardslee WR, Brent DA, Gladstone TR, DeBar LL, Lynch FL, D’Angelo E, Hollon SD, Shamseddeen W, Iyengar S. Prevention of depression in at-risk adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009 Jun 3; 301(21):2215-24. PMCID: PMC2737625
- Clarke G, Kelleher C, Hornbrook M, Debar L, Dickerson J, Gullion C. Randomized effectiveness trial of an Internet, pure self-help, cognitive behavioral intervention for depressive symptoms in young adults. Cogn Behav Ther. 2009; 38(4):222-34. PMCID: PMC2829099
- Brent D, Emslie G, Clarke G, Wagner KD, Asarnow JR, Keller M, Vitiello B, Ritz L, Iyengar S, Abebe K, Birmaher B, Ryan N, Kennard B, Hughes C, DeBar L, McCracken J, Strober M, Suddath R, Spirito A, Leonard H, Melhem N, Porta G, Onorato M, Zelazny J. Switching to another SSRI or to venlafaxine with or without cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with SSRI-resistant depression: The TORDIA randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008 Feb 27; 299(8):901-13. PMCID: PMC2277341
- Clarke G, Debar L, Lynch F, Powell J, Gale J, O'Connor E, Ludman E, Bush T, Lin EH, Von Korff M, Hertert S. A randomized effectiveness trial of brief cognitive-behavioral therapy for depressed adolescents receiving antidepressant medication. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2005 Sep; 44(9):888-98. PubMed PMID: 16113617