Development of a money advice intervention within IAPT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of a Money Advice Intervention Within IAPT: Service user case-studies
IRAS ID
300734
Contact name
Til Wykes
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
Previous research has suggested that recovery rates in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service could be significantly improved if it also addressed patients’ money problems. Financial worry is a major risk factor for many common mental health problems. People who have problem debt are twice as likely to develop serious depression and half as likely to recover when being treated by services for anxiety and depression, such as IAPT. This is especially concerning given the increase in financial and mental health difficulties resulting from Covid-19. Our previous study explored the views of IAPT service users, IAPT staff, and Citizen’s Advice (CA) money advisors, on whether a combined debt advice and psychological therapy intervention was acceptable and possible. A common theme mentioned by IAPT staff was the difficulty they had supporting clients with their money worries, despite it being an increasing concern. Likewise, CA money advisors struggled to support clients who also had mental health difficulties. It often took up all their contact time, and when staff were able to refer onto mental health or financial support services, they had no follow-up and no way of knowing if their client had received that support. Service users also described difficulties contacting money advice services. Every person we spoke to agreed that a combined intervention, with a warmer referral pathway so therapist and money advisor could communicate between each other about the support offered, would be beneficial. \n\nFunding has been secured through Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to consider the potential for such an intervention within IAPT services and then design and test this intervention. This current application is for the second study of the first phase of this research project, to trial the intervention design on a series of individual case studies to determine its acceptability. \n
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0159
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion