Balancing ACT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Balancing ACT: Evaluating the effectiveness of psychoeducation and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) groups for people with bipolar disorder
IRAS ID
213707
Contact name
Emma O'Donoghue
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Bipolar disorder places a heavy burden on sufferers and families, with high societal and healthcare costs. Improved access to, and refinement of psychological interventions is recommended. In particular, interventions that target problematic experiences of psychosis for people with bipolar disorder are not routinely available, and have not previously been evaluated.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a cognitive behavioural intervention targeting the relationship with symptoms, emphasising acceptance rather than change. . Psychoeducation about bipolar assists people to recognise relapse signs and seek treatment early. We will evaluate an innovative group intervention, combining ACT and psychoeducation approaches for service users with psychosis and bipolar disorder/symptoms.
Individuals will be recruited from services within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, who work with people with psychosis, many of whom also experience bipolar symptoms. The group intervention will comprise ten weekly, 2-hour sessions, and a booster session four weeks later. We will deliver three Balancing ACT groups to 24-30 service users in total, during the trial, with a final group, for waitlist participants, that will not contribute to trial outcomes. We will recruit 36 service users to allow for drop-out and non-completion of measures.
The study will provide pilot data on the effectiveness of Balancing ACT workshops. Outcome measures will be administered at baseline (0 weeks), post-intervention (10 weeks), and post follow-up (14 weeks).
We predict that service users will show improvements in psychological well-being (primary outcome measured by the Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder measure) compared to a waiting list control group. We will also compare the groups on relapse/service use (secondary outcome, measured by the average/month of days in hospital/under the home treatment team, for the 12 months before baseline and the three months afterwards). We will also measure changes in mood, distress, recovery and psychological processes.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0445
Date of REC Opinion
22 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion