Imagery Based Emotion Regulation for Bipolar Disorder
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Imagery Based Emotion Regulation for Bipolar Disorder
IRAS ID
240881
Contact name
Craig Steel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, days
Research summary
Bipolar disorder (BD), formerly known as manic depression, is associated with episodes of extreme high and low mood. Relapse rates are high and there is considerable room for improvement in the treatment of BD. People diagnosed with BD tend to suffer from anxiety. Being anxious is linked to people being more likely to have extreme mood swings and to attempt suicide. However, there are no treatments for anxiety for people in this group.\nWe have been working on developing a new treatment for people diagnosed with BD and have discovered that the anxiety they experience is driven by having lots of emotional mental images that keep popping into their minds. On the back of this work, and together with service users diagnosed with BD, we have developed a new intervention called Imagery Based Emotion Regulation. It involves training people in skills to better manage their distressing mental images. An early version of this intervention was adapted based on feedback from those who received it and input from service-user focus groups.\nImagery Based Emotion Regulation (IBER) involves up to 12 sessions within 4 months. We have tested our approach with 14 patients diagnosed with BD, and found large reductions in anxiety and improved mood stability. Patients reported that they found the skills easy to use. We plan to conduct a full trial to see whether IBER really works and is value for money. First, we need to conduct a smaller study to check that a big study would be acceptable to patients and achievable within the planned time limits. This small study will recruit 60 people diagnosed with BD. Half will be offered IBER and half will get routine NHS care. We will carry out assessments over 8-months to help us decide if a big trial should be done.\n
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0164
Date of REC Opinion
2 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion