The perspective of the ISP service user

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The perspective of the service user: Accounts of taking part in the Intensive Support Programme at an acute in-patient facility

  • IRAS ID

    144351

  • Contact name

    Jane Birrell

  • Contact email

    jane.birrell@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

  • Research summary

    The Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust has implemented a psychologically led initiative to engage service users actively in the management of their mental health, from service entry, through collaborative emotion focused formulation, followed by the provision of programmes to teach the skills to enable them to cope differently with overwhelming affect, disturbing experiences etc., delivered as far as possible by the whole staff group: the Intensive Support Programme (ISP). The current study aims to explore how ISP is perceived by the service user. The study will aim to highlight if the programme was felt to be beneficial in introducing new ways of coping with mental health difficulties and will also explore how the service user felt as a result of the intervention. Qualitative methods and analysis will be employed to examine what aspects of ISP the service user felt they had completed, how they found the use of an emotion focused formulation and group skills training sessions as well as whether they have utilised aspects of ISP after discharge. This study will provide a qualitative complement to a parallel, quantitative service evaluation looking at the outcomes of objective measures of the efficacy of ISP as a therapeutic framework.
    The scientific justification for this research is twofold as firstly it will demonstrate, or otherwise, the efficacy and acceptability of a psychological approach to the treatment of admitted patients in acute in-patient facilities and linked community provision, thereby increasing scientific knowledge in an under investigated area. Secondly, it builds on the cross diagnostic application of third wave therapies (Hayes, 2004, Linehan, 1993) specifically designed for and implemented at the acute stage.

  • REC name

    North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    14/NW/1031

  • Date of REC Opinion

    13 Jun 2014

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion