Experiences of family interventions for psychosis by video call
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of practitioners, service users and families engaging in family interventions for psychosis by videoconferencing.
IRAS ID
291306
Contact name
Duncan Moulton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Salomons Institute for Applied Psychology
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
How do practitioners, service users and families experience family interventions for psychosis by videoconferencing?
Family interventions for psychosis (FIp) seek to promote helpful communication and behaviour within an individual’s important relationships to help alleviate distress and prevent relapse. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends FIp for people with psychosis or schizophrenia. However, evidence shows that FIp is not implemented widely enough.
Previous research suggests that distance between clinic sites and family homes may be a barrier to implementation. Offering FIp by video call is a possible solution to this problem, with increased relevance in the context of the Covid pandemic. While evidence shows that couple and family therapies can translate well to video call, there is very little specific research into FIp by video call to guide practitioners seeking to adapt to this medium. Studies suggest the importance of adapting FIp to specific contexts to improve effectiveness and acceptability.
The current proposal is for a study of the experiences of practitioners, service users and their family members when engaging in FIp by video call. The aims are to learn positive and negative experiences in order to elaborate existing guidance on good practice. Themes from these experiences may inform initial suggestions of how FIp might helpfully be adapted to suit the video call format.
The research will be funded by Canterbury Christ Church University and carried out in three NHS Trusts. Eligible participants will be practitioners, service users or family members who have engaged in, declined or withdrawn from FIp using video call. An interview lasting about one hour will be conducted by video or telephone with consenting participants. Responses will be analysed for common themes. It is estimated that about 9 months will elapse between starting recruitment and the end of interviewing.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0166
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion