Evaluating advice and support for people with emotional distress
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of specialist advice and support for people with emotional distress and difficulties in relationships with others: A feasibility study
IRAS ID
219470
Contact name
Mike Crawford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study is a clinical trial that will examine the feasibility of conducting a parallel-arm, single-blind, randomised trial of a low-intensity intervention that utilises psychoeducation and psychologically informed support to help people diagnosed with personality disorder. Up to sixty participants will be recruited from Community Mental Health Teams across London and randomised in equal numbers to receive low intensity intervention or treatment as usual with a six month follow-up. Personality disorders are long-term mental health conditions which affect 1 in 20 people in the UK. People with personality disorder have severe problems in their relationships with others which can lead to poor mental health, social exclusion, and impaired quality of life. No drugs are currently licensed for the treatment of personality disorder; instead NICE guidelines recommend structured psychological therapies, which are intensive and are delivered over a 12-18 month period. Current guidelines for treating depression and other common mental disorders generally recommend a ‘stepped care approach’ in which all patients are initially offered a low-intensity intervention and only those who do not respond to this are offered longer-term and more intensive interventions.
It has been argued that a stepped care approach should also be used to treat people with personality disorder, however little research has been undertaken to develop or test ‘low-intensity’ interventions for people with personality disorder. In 2014-16 staff working at the Waterview Centre in London developed a low-intensity intervention for people with personality disorder (IRAS 197429). Informal feedback from people who received the intervention was that they valued it but the clinical effectiveness of the intervention was not tested.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0249
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion