The SPS study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing psychological support for people with emotional distress and difficulties in relationships: The SPS study.
IRAS ID
315951
Contact name
Mike Crawford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN13918289
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
People with a diagnosis of personality disorder have high levels of contact with health services but the care they receive is often poor. National guidelines recommend that people are offered evidence-based psychological treatments. These treatments last between one to two years and require people to attend therapy groups on a regular basis, but these intensive treatments are not suitable for everyone with personality disorder.
In an effort to provide services that are more inclusive and to increase the number of people with personality disorder that receive effective treatment, clinicians have begun to develop lower intensity treatments. However, we do not have good quality evidence about whether they help patients in the long term or provide value for money.
Structured Psychological Support (SPS) is an individual low intensity intervention, which was developed in collaboration with people with lived experience of personality disorder. It consists of six to ten sessions of person-centred psychological support and aims to help people develop a better understanding of their difficulties and techniques that they can use to improve their mental health and functioning. This trial will investigate whether SPS is a clinically effective and cost-effective approach to improving the mental health and social functioning of people with personality disorder. Participants will be allocated at random to receive SPS or treatment as usual, and then compared over one year on social functioning, mental health, suicidal behaviour, and patient-rated experience of care. Cost effectiveness of the treatment will be evaluated using a measure of quality of life and comparing use of health and social care services in the SPS group versus treatment as usual group. We will interview participants and staff delivering the treatment to understand how it may be delivered in usual clinical care if found to be effective.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0631
Date of REC Opinion
20 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion