Current research

In this section, you will find the current research being carried out at the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT). 

Please refer to the following website and use the corresponding IRAS number for more information about these studies — Health Research Authority, Research summaries

NIHR Portfolio Studies

Adult’s Mental Health Services Studies **Currently Recruiting**

APOD - An Anthropological Study of Open Dialogue in the NHS v1

IRAS# 272400 

Summary :This is an in-depth ethnographic study of the Peer-Supported Open Dialogue (POD) model of psychiatric care. Open Dialogue, developed in Finland, is a service delivery model with a collaborative approach that explicitly targets social networks. Its non-diagnostic approach uses dialogical techniques with clients and their networks to engage with the social conditions and meaning of distress. Appropriate pharmaceutical, psychological or social interventions are deployed in shared decision-making with social networks and healthcare professionals. It aims at improving outcomes for people in crisis and suffering from severe mental Illness.

Chief Investigator: Professor David Mosse

Principal Investigator: Dr Russell Razzaque


ASsuRED Trial V1

IRAS# 279991

Summary: When someone who has harmed themselves is seen in the Emergency Department (ED), a mental health practitioner (MHP) conduct a risk assessment. This includes assessing the patient’s psychological state, social situation and needs for support. However, referring patients to specialized mental health services is often not a realistic option because of limited capacity in services, lengthy waitlists and many patients do not attend or withdraw from treatment. Risk of suicide is greatest in the initial week after discharge from hospital, so rapid follow up care in the days following discharge has the potential to provide a lifesaving intervention for people. This study is testing an intervention of a therapeutic assessment, a check-in phone call within 72-hours and three follow-up sessions using a solution focused approach to see if the intervention is effective compared with usual practice in reducing reattendance to hospital for self-harm.

Chief Investigator: Professor Rose McCabe

Principal Investigator: Dr Luca Polledri


BPD/ASPD - Probing Social Exchanges – A Computational Neuroscience Approach to the Understanding of Borderline and Anti-Social Personality Disorder

IRAS# 103075

Summary :The study aims to investigate the brain activation patterns of people suffering from personality disorders (both in adults and adolescents) or similar traits and compare them with healthy control participants. Only little is known about the neurobiology of Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorders. The study design will address some of these which will hopefully allow us to gain a better understanding of the disorders and to develop more informed and effective treatments from which clients will benefit.

Chief Investigator: Professor Peter Fonagy

Principal Investigator: Dr Janet Feigenbaum         


Cognitive and Neural Networks in Psychiatry

IRAS# 184289

Summary : The Cognitive and Neural Networks in Psychiatry (CNNP) Study investigates the neural and cognitive mechanisms that are associated with psychiatric disorders. Despite the frequent occurrence and the high costs associated with psychiatric disorders, little is known about the mechanisms causing these illnesses and what prevents people from becoming mentally ill.   The CNNP study investigates the neurocognitive aspects of psychiatric disorders, the validity of a dimensional approach and trans­-diagnostical traits.  The study will investigate key psychiatric dimensions, such as impulsivity, compulsivity, emotional instability and social difficultiesThe CNNP is part of the Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network (NSPN), funded by a Strategic Wellcome Trust Award.

Chief Investigator: Professor Ray Dolan

Principal Investigator: Aitziber Elizalde


EDGI

IRAS# 243566 

Summary : Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) will be the world’s first comprehensive resource for eating disorders and will provide: (1) biological samples for studying the genetics (2) psychological and medical data, including neuropsychological, psychiatric conditions and medical comorbidities; and (3) data on family psychiatric and medical history. It will represent a resource of clinical measures linked to biological samples as part of the NIHR BioResource and the NIHR BioResource Centre Maudsley. The resource will enable studies on EDs by providing samples and biological data to the scientific community at minimal costs.

Chief Investigator: Professor Gerome Breen

Principal Investigator: Dr Anna Oldershaw


ESCAPE-O

IRAS# 304857

Summary : Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, in the UK and worldwide. Smoking prevalence has decreased from 29% during the 1990s to about 15%. However, smoking is twice as prevalent in people with common mental illness. There is growing evidence that smoking may worsen mental health. Therefore, integrating smoking cessation support within treatment for mental illness could improve outcomes for people with mental illness who want to quit smoking.  In England people with depression and anxiety can self-refer or be referred by their GP to IAPT. In IAPT patients receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) delivered face-to-face, or via an online platform called SilverCloud. SilverCloud is used by more than 75% of NHS IAPT services, reaching over 450,000 patients with common mental illness since 2013. The programme is self-guided and supported by telephone contact from an IAPT therapist. Given that half of smokers are interested in using online smoking cessation support to quit smoking, and the potential reach of online interventions, a modest effect can offer significant health benefits and financial savings for the NHS.

Chief Investigator: Dr Pamela Jacobsen

Principal Investigator: Aitziber Elizalde


Evaluation of Intensive Community Care Services, an RCT (IVY)

IRAS# 125889

Summary : Approximately 10% of adolescents experience severe mental health disorders and over 4000 are admitted to hospital every year. We do not know what the best way to care for these adolescents is. The main aim of this study is to establish which of the two ways of providing care to youths aged 12 to 18 is better. One way, treatment as usual (TAU), involves usual admission to a psychiatric hospital. The other, Intensive Community Care Service (ICCS), provides treatment at home instead of hospital. ICCS teams quickly assess all young people being considered for admission, start home treatment with frequent visits and then connect youths and their families with other services if needed.  This study will randomise participants to one of the two ways of providing care.  The groups will be compared in terms of their mental health, well-being and service satisfaction. We will also collect information on all the health and social care services that these young people will have received so that we can compare how much their care cost. The study aims to discover the best way to provide care to young people with severe mental health disorders.

Chief Investigator: Dr Dennis Ougrin

Principal Investigator: Dr Leon Wehncke


Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD)

IRAS# 245339 

Summary : The aim of this project is to recruit a large number of participants who will provide responses to a comprehensive set of questions. They will be recruited into an existing biobank, the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare Diseases, a recontactable biobank. This will help towards forming the largest recontactable biobank of participants diagnosed with or suffering from two very common disorders, depression and anxiety, who will be primarily recruited through an online platform. The project will explore genetic and environmental factors associated with risk for depression and anxiety disorders in the UK, to understand these common disorders and help develop better treatments.

Chief Investigator: Professor Gerome Breen

Principal Investigator: Dr Russell Razzaque


MDD - Probing Social Exchanges and Emotions– A Computational Neuroscience Approach to the Understanding of Major Depressive Disorder

IRAS# 161423 

Summary : This study aims to investigate the brain activation patterns of people suffering from Major Depressive Disorder and compare them with healthy control participants as little is known about the neurobiology of Depression. The study design will aim to address some of these gaps in current knowledge and so enable a better understanding of the disorder and contribute toward developing more informed and effective treatments from which clients will benefit.

Chief Investigator: Professor Read Montague

Principal Investigator: Aitziber Elizalde


Medication management in EiPS: Exploring SDM

IRAS# 323185

Summary: The overall aim of this study is to explore how medication for mental health is managed in relation to Shared Decision Making (SDM) principles in Early Intervention for Psychosis Services (EIPS), in order to inform improvements to patients' involvement in care. EIPS are specialist services for people who experience psychosis for the first time, which offer support for up to three years. SDM, which is recommended in recent NICE guidelines for all forms of healthcare, refers to the collaboration between two ‘experts’, the clinician (an expert on evidence-based treatment options) and the service user (an expert in personal experiences and preferences), to come to a decision on treatment. Mental health has lagged behind other areas of medicine in implementing SDM, so research exploring how this can be developed and embedded within clinical practice is timely.

Chief Investigator: Dr Joanna Moncrieff

Prinicpal Investigator: Dr Joanna Moncrieff


NCISH – National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness

IRAS# 0

NIHR# 5656

Summary : This study aims to collect detailed clinical information on patients of mental health services who die by suicide, or commit homicide.  It also aims to make recommendations for policy and clinical practice. 

Chief Investigator: Professor Louis Appleby

Principal Investigator: Dr Sandeep Toot


PPiP2 - Prevalence of Neuronal cell surface antibodies in patients with Psychotic illness - extension study. Determining the Clinical relevance of Pathogenic Antibodies in Psychosis

IRAS# 97740

Summary : The study aims to understand if some cases of psychosis are caused by immune system problems in some people. The immune system normally controls our ability to fight infection. If the immune system goes wrong, it may cause diseases called ‘autoimmune’ diseases. However, diagnoses can be made for some of these autoimmune diseases using blood tests. The study will specifically focus on antibodies affecting the N-methyl D-aspartate receptors (NMDA-r) or other neuronal membrane targets that may be the cause symptoms of psychosis and possibly cause some cases of schizophrenia.

Chief Investigator: Dr Belinda Lennox

Principal Investigator: Dr Dinesh Kumar


RECOLLECT 2

IRAS# 303212

Summary: RECOLLECT stands for Recovery Colleges Characterisation and Testing. It is a programme of research investigating Recovery Colleges. Recovery Colleges are a new approach to supporting people living with mental health problems. They are collaborative, strengths-based, person-centred, inclusive and community-focused. A Recovery College provides support to students (mainly mental health service users but also family members, staff and other stakeholders) through adult education rather than through clinical approaches. The study aims to address how Recovery Colleges can provide the most benefit to people who use mental health services.

Chief Investigator: Professor Mike Slade

Principal Investigator: Dr Jacki Stansfeld


Remote Approaches to Psychosocial Intervention Delivery (RAPID)

IRAS# 307657

Summary : People with serious mental health problems (SMHP) are more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospital following contact with crisis services. Pressure on hospital beds is made worse by the extra impact on crisis care, and hospital admissions can be traumatic; because of COVID-19 admitting someone to hospital can be additionally problematic. People with SMHP are vulnerable to COVID-19 due to increased risk of underlying physical health problems, medication effects and engagement with services. There is an urgent need for treatments to address suicidal thoughts/behaviours and reduce avoidable hospital admissions. This study will conduct a multi-site trial to find out which brief and remotely delivered treatments are helpful for people with SMHP with recent suicidal thoughts/suicide attempt.

Chief Investigator: Professor Anthony Morrison

Principal Investigator: Dr Lisa Wood


Radar follow-up study

IRAS# 315210

Summary : Antipsychotics are a medication given to people with schizophrenia and similar conditions. Antipsychotics can reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia in the short term, but we do not know if they are useful in the long-term. This is important because most people take antipsychotics for many years. Antipsychotics can also have unpleasant and dangerous side-effects. The original RADAR RCT trial explored what happens to people who reduced and came off their antipsychotic medication gradually with support from their doctor, compared to people who stay on it. This further follow up study aims to understand the longer term effect of reducing and stopping antipsychotic medication.  It will follow-up the people enrolled in the original RADAR trial now a few years have passed to see how they are now. 

Chief Investigator: Professor Joanna Moncrieff

Principal Investigator: Professor Joanna Moncrieff


Service configurations for psychosis

IRAS# 329320

Summary: Psychosis is a term for experiences such as hearing disturbing voices or extreme suspiciousness. There is increasing recognition that long-lasting stress and childhood experiences can play a role in causing psychosis. Research suggests it is helpful when services offer a range of therapies, involve people’s family or friends, and support people's life goals. However, precisely how this works is unclear, and not enough people have access to this type of service, especially ethnic minorities. This research will use research and lived experience to explain how people draw on services, friends, family and other support to achieve their own definition of recovery. We will work with stakeholders (service providers, experts by experience and informal carers) to suggest how services can improve recovery across ethnicities, then plan service changes with stakeholders. We will bring together research and stakeholder experience to produce explanations of how services enable recovery – ‘programme theories’.

Chief Investigator: Ms Sue Holltum

Principal Investigator: Dr Russell Razzaque


The Community Navigator Trial

IRAS# 309178

Summary: About a third of people with depression are not helped by anti-depressants and can be termed “treatment resistant” (TRD). Talking therapies are also of limited benefit for this group. Among people with TRD only 2-3 out of 10 recovers over a few years. They are enduringly unwell and often extremely lonely. More research and new types of support are urgently needed for this group. The Community Navigator programme has previously been developed and tested to see if it is feasible and helpful to address loneliness for people with complex depression and anxiety. This study is a full trial in four areas of England to test the effectiveness of the Community Navigator programme, in reducing loneliness and depression for people with TRD in secondary care.

Chief Investigator: Dr Brynmor Lloyd-Evans

Principal Investigator: Emma Barnes

Children’s Mental Health Services Studies **Currently Recruiting**

ReSET — Building resilience through socioemotional training

IRAS# 322531

Summary: The PIPA trial is a two-arm, randomised controlled trial to modify the Partners in Parenting website and resources to a UK context and assess whether the personalised programme reduces the risk of affective disorders in young people at high risk. Families will be randomised 1:1 between the personalised programme and standard educational package.

Chief Investigator: Professor Pasco Fearon

Principal Investigator: Dr Virginia Lumsden

Dementia Services Studies **Currently Recruiting**

A clinical and cost effectiveness RCT of iACT4CARERS

IRAS# 324157

Summary: Family carers are at higher risk of developing anxiety and depression. Offering treatments online improves availability for people who have mobility problems, live remotely or cannot leave home. This makes it more accessible to everyone and easier to provide, so could be rolled out nationally, reducing inequalities in access to care. This large trial aims to find out if internet-delivered self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia (online ACT) is helpful in reducing anxiety and affordable.  It also aims to find out how online ACT can be successfully delivered to diverse carer populations and in different healthcare settings.

Chief Investigator: Dr Naoko Kishita

Principal Investigator: Jane Burges


Compassion Focused Therapy - For Mood in Dementia (Version 1.0)

IRAS# 327086

Summary: Of the 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, many experience depression, anxiety or both. This can worsen cognition (e.g. memory and language) and behavioural problems, lead to relationship difficulties, and increase care home admissions. With medications for mood in dementia often ineffective, recent trends have moved towards non-drug interventions. However, the lack of interventions available with proven effects results in significant unmet needs. Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a talking therapy, which addresses feelings of shame and stigma. This study aims to understand whether CFT is acceptable as an intervention for people with dementia and depression/ anxiety and whether conducting a future full-scale trial is likely to be possible.

Chief Investigator: Aimee Spector

Principal Investigator: Lindsay Royan


NIDUS

IRAS# 271363

Summary: This study is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and led by University College London in collaboration with University of Bradford (UoB). This application is for the full trial of part three of a large programme of work. In part one, we carried out interviews and observations with family carers, people with dementia and professionals on what helps and hinders independence at home. We used our findings to co-produce a psychological intervention to improve the support received by people with dementia and their family/friend at home. We piloted the intervention to make sure it was acceptable to the participants receiving it and the researchers delivering it. We will now test whether the intervention works.

Chief Investigator: Professor Claudia Cooper

Principal Investigator: Ritchard Ledgerd


Gotcha! - Digital Interventions in Neuro-Rehabilitation (DINR) - Phase 2 & 3

IRAS# 237795

Summary : Digital Interventions in Neuro-Rehabilitation: Two digital neuro interventions (DNIs) for word retrieval. The development and testing of two web-based therapy applications for people with naming difficulties caused by Stroke (iTALKbetter) or Mild-Moderate Dementia (Gotcha!).

Chief Investigator: Dr Alexander Leff

Principal Investigator: Claire Doyle


Social cognition and functioning in Alzheimer's dementia

IRAS# 313873

Summary: Impaired social functioning is a core feature of dementia and declines progressively through the disease course, but we do not currently understand the specific causes of this decline and have no effective treatments for social functioning. Social cognitive impairment, particularly impaired theory of mind (meaning inability to understand that other people have other thoughts and conceptualise what those thoughts might be), is a likely major cause of this decline and, if this is established, it could be a target for future interventions which aim to maintain social cognition. This study aims to test whether theory of mind deficits, or those in other social cognitive domains, are associated with current and subsequent level of social behaviour and functioning in Alzheimer’s disease. It also aims to establish the reliability and validity of novel approaches to the measurement of social behaviour and function in Alzheimer’s disease.

Chief Investigator: Dr Andrew Sommerlad

Principal Investigator: Jane Burgess


Understanding the role of adult community health services in avoiding hospital admissions

IRAS# 321707

Summary : The study aims to find out how those responsible for planning and managing adult community health services go about trying to match the supply of services to need or demand. Adult community health services include community nursing services and other such services provided in the community or in patients' own homes. The study will involve interviewing the managers responsible for commissioning community services to find out how they decide how much money to allocate and what types of services they want. We will also interview managers in the organisations which provide the services to find out how they decide what services to provide and how they check whether services are meeting the needs of their populations. This will help us to understand how such services can be better planned and managed in the future.

Chief Investigator: Dr Rachel Meacock

Principal Investigator: None 

Community Health Services Studies **Currently Recruiting**

ESMI III

IRAS# 265175

Summary : This study aims produce high-quality evidence about which types of Community Perinatal Mental Health Teams are most effective in improving mother and infant outcomes, and in what circumstances. It will invite 100 pregnant and postnatal women who are receiving services from a perinatal community mental health team, 100 partners/co-parents, and 50 health providers to take part in the study. Women will be invited from different areas in England, from up to 10 different services with different types of provision. Participants will be asked to complete interviews about their experiences of care. Data will also be gathered from services about how many people are referred to the service, the number of sessions attended, and what types of interventions individuals receive. This will inform which types of PMH teams help women and their families get access to evidence-based treatments during pregnancy or postnatally.

Chief Investigator: Abigail Easter

Principal Investigator: Gemma Lutwyche


Genes and Health

IRAS# 146051

Summary : In East London [and second site Bradford], South Asian people have some of the highest rates of heart disease, diabetes, and poor health in the UK. Living with a long-term illness has a major impact on a person’s quality of life and on their family. Genes & Health is a medical research study set up to help fight against these and other major diseases. Some early aims of the study are to study normal variation in genes in adult Bangladeshi and Pakistani people, to study genes in people with very high and very low cholesterol levels, to better understand why heart disease and stroke occurs, to study variation in genes in healthy adults whose parents are related, and to study genes of people with diabetes. 

Chief Investigator: Professor David Van Heel

Principal Investigator: Dr Sandeep Toot


IMPROVE trial

IRAS# 308114

Summary: More than a million people in the UK are affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is the best treatment for the symptoms and impact of COPD, it improves quality of life and exercise capacity. PR classes include exercise and information on how to manage symptoms. The impact of PR is restricted by poor rates of uptake and completion. Only 4 out of 10 people with COPD, referred for PR, complete the classes. Volunteers who have completed PR will be trained to support COPD patients who have been referred for PR. Previous research has shown that PR-buddies’can be successfully recruited and trained to support COPD patients referred for PR. The main outcome of the IMPROVE Trial is whether PR-buddies increase the rates of uptake and completion of PR compared with PR centres who do not have a PR-buddy service.

Chief Investigator:  Dr Patrick White

Principal Investigator:  Michelle Higgins


LonDownS cohort

IRAS# 120344

Summary : Down Syndrome (DS) occurs due to the presence of three copies of chromosome 21, and is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. Individuals with DS show a large variability in their cognitive abilities, and problems may be seen in functions related to frontal, temporal, hippocampal and cerebellar regions (such as executive functioning, language, memory, and motor coordination). All individuals with DS have Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) neuropathology in their brains after the age of 30, yielding a much greater risk for developing the clinical signs of AD compared to the general population. Not all individuals with DS however develop the clinical symptoms of AD. This may be due to differences in their genetic, biological, cognitive or socio-economic profiles, although the contributions of these causes that account for this variation are currently unknown. The proposed study will investigate these variations and their developmental origins.

Chief Investigator: Professor Andre Strydom

Principal Investigator: Dr Bini Thomas


OUTDOOR

IRAS# 329085

Summary: This NIHR funded study wants to see if the NHS can better support people who break their hip to get back to going outdoors by providing extra care to help them get back to doing things they like to do outdoors on foot or with transport.  They will be supported by a therapist who will help them reduce fear about falling again.If this small study shows this extra care can be given in the NHS and is helpful a larger study will be carried out.  The larger study will see if this extra care works to help older people get back to what they like to do outdoors and feel happier.

Chief Investigator: Emma Godfrey

Principal Investigator: Zita Lodge


REDUCE Trial: Reducing the impact of DFUs (RCT)

IRAS# 274384

Summary : Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are poorly healing wounds below the ankle affecting 25% of people with diabetes. Less than half of people will be ulcer-free after 6 months of treatment, and the same number will experience another ulcer within a year.  This study is an intervention to help people with diabetes who have had a foot ulcer previously.  It includes 8 one hour session with a healthcare professional, such as a diabetes nurse, and support through a website. 

Chief Investigator: Professor Frances Game

Principal Investigator: Nadine Price


TONIC Phase 2, 3, 4 and 5

IRAS# 88372

Summary : Quality of Life (QoL) for people with disabling neurological conditions is affected by a range of factors, which have received considerable previous research attention. However clinicians’ knowledge could be enhanced.  This study will consult with a range of people with the conditions stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, spinal conditions and motor neurone disease to learn about QoL and develop and test a questionnaire measure.

Chief Investigator: Professor Carolyn Young

Principal Investigator: Liz Edmunds

Staff Studies **Currently Recruiting**

TBC

AGILE - Non-NHS Research

The PIPA Trial **In follow-up**

IRAS# 0

NIHR# 44293

Summary : The PIPA trial is a two-arm, randomised controlled trial to modify the Partners in Parenting website and resources to a UK context and assess whether the personalised programme reduces the risk of affective disorders in young people at high risk. Families will be randomised 1:1 between the personalised programme and standard educational package.

Chief Investigator: Dr Andrew Thompson

Open Studies now closed to recruitment **In follow-up**

ABATED

IRAS# 312683

Summary :   People are referred to memory clinics when there is a suspicion that they might have dementia. However, there are other causes of memory difficulty, and often it is impossible to know whether someone has dementia when they are first assessed. Doctors refer to this uncertain situation as “mild cognitive disorder” (MCD). Currently, the only way to establish the diagnosis is to follow people over time to see if things get worse. Timely diagnosis is important. Brain scans are a routine part of memory clinic assessment. Dementia causes shrinking of the brain, but when humans interpret scans, this only provides a clear diagnosis when dementia is quite advanced. ABATED developed a technology for computerised interpretation of brain scans. This can predict whether somebody with MCD will develop dementia with 92% accuracy.  There is regional variation in dementia diagnosis. East London is very diverse and deprived, with low rates of accurate dementia diagnosis. This study will the technology to interpret the brain scans of people with MCD in East London memory clinics to predict who will develop dementia and who will not.

Chief Investigator: Dr Charles Marshall

Principal Investigator: Dr Georgina Turnbull


Adapting CBT for inpatients with psychosis

IRAS# 272043

Summary :People receiving mental health hospital treatment for psychosis prioritise having access to talking therapies as part of their treatment plan. However, very little research has been done to develop a talking therapy which can be offered in mental health hospital. Mental health hospitals care for people experiencing high levels of distress and risk of harm to themselves and others for very short periods of time. Currently, there is no talking therapy available which has been specifically developed to help this group of people in mental health hospital. The aim of this study is to try out an adapted talking therapy intervention to see if it may be helpful to inpatients. The study will also be trialling out a newly developed questionnaire which hopes to assess important therapy outcomes for people in mental health hospital, as there are currently no appropriate questionnaires.

Chief Investigator: Dr Lisa Wood

Principal Investigator: Dr Lisa Wood


APPLE-Tree

IRAS# 274277

Summary :This study will test a prevention programme to lower older people’s chances of getting dementia. The half of older people (aged 60+) who have problems with “cognition” (memory, orientation and other thinking) have more chance of getting dementia, so we have tried to design an approach that works for them. The programme aims to help older people make changes that can prevent dementia.  The study will find out whether people receiving our programme have less cognitive problems over two years than people who only receive an information leaflet; if so, how our programme worked, and if it is good value for money.

Chief Investigator: Professor Claudia Cooper

Principal Investigator: Dr Georgina Charlesworth


DECRYPT: Delivery of Cognitive Therapy for Young People after Trauma

IRAS# 188916

Summary: The DECRYPT study aims to improve treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for children and teenagers who have been through several very scary or upsetting experiences. Post-traumatic stress often involves thoughts or memories of the experiences, nightmares, and other forms of anxiety and distress. Children and young people who have PTSD might receive help from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and other NHS services. This study will compare the standard care and support that NHS services offer with a type of talking therapy called “cognitive therapy”.

Chief Investigator:  Dr Richard Meiser-Stedman

Principal Investigator:  Dr Benjamin Goodall

 


 


DREAMS START (Dementia RElAted Manual for Sleep) RCT

IRAS# 272935 

Summary : Many people living with dementia have disturbed sleep, including reduced night-time sleep, night-time wandering and daytime sleepiness. They often wake family members, who may become exhausted, stressed and unhappy. Night-time paid care may be unaffordable and care at home may break down.  There are currently no known effective, safe treatments for sleep problems in people with dementia, possibly because there may be many causes even in the same person.  A team of experts - in sleep, dementia interventions, and people whose lives have been affected by dementia - developed DREAMS START (Dementia RElAted Manual for Sleep; STrAtegies for RelaTives) using the best evidence and what people felt was important to them. It uses several approaches; such as increasing light, activity, comfort, routine and relaxation. It is flexible, based on what someone needs and what works for them. The study trains and supervises health workers with a psychology degree to deliver DREAMS START.

Chief Investigator: Ms S Rand

Principal Investigator: Dr Georgina Charlesworth


FINCH: A crisis planning intervention to reduce compulsory admissions

IRAS# 300671

Summary : The number of people being involuntarily admitted to mental health hospitals under the Mental Health Act (being “sectioned”) has been increasing in the UK. One way to try and reduce this number is to offer support to people who get sectioned to try and reduce the likelihood of it happening again in the future. There is limited research carried out to understand what types of support might help stop or reduce the likelihood of people being sectioned. The aim of this study is to develop and test a new type of support that aims to reduce the likelihood of “sectioning” happening again once someone leaves hospital. The new type of support will involve developing a crisis plan and receiving regular contact from a psychologist over the next year to help people develop skills to manage their own mental health and respond if another crisis may be developing. The study is particularly keen to include and consider how to help people from ethnic minority backgrounds as they are more likely to be “sectioned” compared to White British people.

Chief Investigator: Professor Sonia Johnson

Principal Investigator: Dr Lisa Wood


OPTIMA RCT

IRAS# 303121

Summary: Around 4% of UK children have high levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention - 90% of whom also display difficult-to-manage behaviour known as conduct problems. This can stress parents, lower their self-esteem, and negatively impact family life.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that parents of children with these kinds of problems get support as soon as possible after they seek professional help. However, clinical services are overstretched, and traditional in-person parent training is expensive, families often wait very long to receive this vital input. To address this, we have created a digital parent training course - Structured E-Parenting Support (STEPS). It is delivered as a mobile app and provides low-cost support that can be easily accessed at parents’ convenience. This study aims to test if STEPS helps parents reduce children’s conduct problems during the difficult waiting period for clinical assessment.

Cheif Investigator:  Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke

Principal Investigator: Dr Annette Barrett


PROPEL - Predictors of psychological treatment outcomes for CMHP in IAPT

IRAS# 297739

Summary : Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders particularly relevant to the population in the present time as population.   Psychological treatments, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy have been reported to be effective in the treatment of CMHP. The identification of predictors of psychological treatment outcomes could have beneficial clinical applications, such as effectively adjusting treatment to individual patients, and would be an important step to ensure protection and improvement of mental health and associated quality of life in both younger and older adults.  This study will investigate the predictors of outcome of psychological treatments for adults using IAPT services.

Chief Investigator: Miss Alexandra Schmidt

Principal Investigator: Dr Mark Horowitz


Relating Therapy for the Anorexic Voice: Exploratory Case Series (R2AV)

IRAS# 318551

Summary : Anorexia Nervosa (AN) can have a serious and severe impact on individuals and those around them. Recommended psychological interventions are typically not found to be helpful by people with AN who often have difficulties for a long time and have regular periods of relapse. Due to this, there have been calls for new therapeutic approaches. Research suggests that voice hearing experiences are common in those with AN and that over time, a relationship is formed with what is often called the “Anorexic Voice” (AV) or the “Eating Disorder Voice” (EDV). Individuals’ beliefs about and ways of relating with their AV may be a factor in the development and maintenance of AN.  This study aims to explore the potential for a targeted psychological therapy called Relating Therapy to reduce the distressed associated with voice hearing experiences within the context of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Relating Therapy targets the negative relating that can maintain voice-related distress and teaches assertiveness as an alternative response.

Chief Investigator: Dr Mark Hayward

Principal Investigator: Dr Lucy Serpell


Social Environment and Early Psychosis: An Urban Mind Study (URBAN 2)

IRAS# 278399

Summary: Psychosis, which directly affects 2-3% of the population, is a severely debilitating psychiatric disorder characterised by a range of symptoms including false beliefs, false perceptions and disorganised thinking. Although antipsychotic medication can lead to rapid improvement in the acute phase of the disorder, most patients subsequently relapse. In order to address this challenge, we have developed a smartphone app which allows the close monitoring of people across multiple contexts, time-points and locations in real time (Urban Mind; www.urbanmind.info). This study will use an adapted version of the Urban Mind app to measure daily social stress – which is thought to be a strong predictor of the risk of relapse – in patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP).

Chief Investigator: Professor Andrea Mechelli

Principal Investigator:  Dr Miriam Fornells-Ambrojo


Thoughts about physical activity: questionnaire study (UTPA)

IRAS# 319599

Summary: Many people who experience psychosis spend too much time sitting down and not enough time exercising. To help design effective interventions to help with this we need to understand what helps and hinders physical activity. A previous study indicates that the thoughts people have impact upon the physical activity they do. It is therefore important that we develop ways of assessing problematic thoughts, which can later be targeted in treatment. This study will develop questionnaires which will examine reasons to be active, reasons to be less active, reasons to stand and reasons to sit. The questionnaires will be tested to check that they measure what is intended and they are reliable, relevant and a suitable length. 

Chief Investigator: Dr Rowan Diamond

Principal Investigator: Dr Lisa Wood

Non-Portfolio Studies

Open Non-Portfolio Studies

Addressing Inequalities in the Care of Black People with Psychosis: Sharing Testimonials

IRAS# 325675


Development of a first patient experience measure of shared decision making in mental health

IRAS# 332688


Examining the effects of neuropsychological assessment feedback and recommendations within mental health services

IRAS# 323910


Exploring how trauma, symptomatology and expectations of helping relationships are related to epistemic trust in adolescents

IRAS# 217408


Exploring medication management processes in relation to shared decision making in Early Intervention for Psychosis

IRAS# 323185


Exploring the experiences of LGBT+ people with dementia and their needs and preferences about the end of life: Reflexive thematic analysis

IRAS# 289184


Exploring Therapists’ Experiences of Treating People with Functional Neurological Disorders using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

IRAS# 327179


Motivation to Recover from Bulimia Nervosa: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

IRAS# 325024


Patient care, the patient’s way: An evaluation of Method of Levels therapy in secondary care

IRAS# 266408


Responses to emotions in parents of young people with eating disorders

IRAS# 318825


The Co-Working Relationship in Family Interventions for Psychosis: A Grounded Theory Study.

IRAS# 320851


The SEEM Study: Safe Efficient and Enjoyable Mealtimes: Creating a toolkit for families of children who need assistance with eating and drinking – an observational study.

IRAS# 325687


Understanding the stories of young people of the global majority and their families after receiving a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) from a second opinion autism service: exploring the interplay of culture, neurodiversity, and other aspects of identity.

IRAS# 319041


Qualitative Study: young females with harmful sexual behaviour

IRAS# 320707