DISCUSSION
GEE, DELHI
We investigated therapeutic impacts and change processes for adolescent participants approximately 12 months after enrolling in a randomized controlled trial of two low‐intensity problem‐solving formats in New Delhi, India. Qualitative interviews with a sub‐sample of trial participants suggested that both counsellor‐led and bibliotherapy formats helped adolescents to identify and apply proactive solutions for specific stressors, which contributed to a hopeful mindset and adaptive style for managing present and future challenges. Consistent with stress‐coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman, The current findings complement quantitative evidence from the host trial, which demonstrated significant and sustained advantages of the counsellor‐led intervention over 12 months (Malik et al., The caring and empathic skills of counsellors were also highly valued by the adolescent participants. While these relational processes are not specific to problem‐solving interventions, previous research shows that information shared during a psychosocial intervention is more likely to be taken on board and act as a spur for behaviour change when delivered in the context of an effective working alliance (Freake et al., Parents and other family members played important roles in facilitating change for some participants, by acknowledging the credibility of the printed materials, reviewing the steps of problem solving, and providing specific suggestions about potential solutions. On the other hand, many participants preferred not to share problem‐solving materials or even reveal their involvement to family or peers for reasons of stigma. This serves as a reminder that adolescents are not a singular group and mental health interventions must acknowledge individuals' preferences for privacy and autonomy (Cardy et al., Consistent with previous qualitative research and lived‐experience reports (Michelson et al., Overall, experiential accounts and participant recommendations in this study indicated that problem solving is a credible approach that could conceivably be offered at scale in low‐resource school settings in India. Future scale‐up should consider involving adolescents, parents and school leaders in identifying implementation features that are practical and acceptable for delivery within the logistical constraints of the school environment (Gee et al., 