Behavioural Couples Therapy study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Behavioural Couples Therapy as an adjunct to opioid substitution therapy for drug dependent parents: A feasibility study.
IRAS ID
189748
Contact name
Anne Whittaker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Lothian Research and Development Office
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) is an effective psychosocial intervention for the treatment of alcohol and drug problems, developed and evaluated in the USA over three decades. It is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for discordant couples where one person has an addiction and the other does not. Evidence suggests that: BCT can be effective with patients on opioid substitution therapy (OST), such as methadone; it can be implemented with concordant as well as discordant couples (where one or both partners have an addiction) and; it can improve outcomes for children living in the household. However, to date, BCT has not been implemented or evaluated within routine clinical practice within the UK. Conducting an effectiveness trial in the UK therefore raises several feasibility questions, primarily in relation to the acceptability of BCT in the UK drug treatment setting and collecting data on couples and their children.
Our feasibility study, which involves implementing BCT with eighteen families over a 12 month period, will determine its suitability for a pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), including an economic evaluation. Our innovative project, which is supported by the USA developer of the BCT intervention, Professor Timothy O'Farrell and Master Trainer in BCT from the United States, Dr Keith Klostermann, will be the first study to examine the implementation of BCT in the NHS and only the second worldwide to involve drug dependent patients.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
15/SS/0202
Date of REC Opinion
18 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion