Exploring Compassion Focused Therapy for adults with bipolar disorder

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Exploring the impact of Compassion Focused Therapy for people with bipolar disorder. A Pilot Study

• IRAS ID

  248083

• Contact name

  Paul Gilbert

• Contact email

  p.gilbert@derby.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Derby

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 3 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Why?
  Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is specifically aimed at helping patients to switch into compassion focused motivational systems and use a range of breathing, postural visualisation, and behavioural practices to help stimulate adaptive heart rate variation. There is anecdotal evidence that these practices can be helpful to people with bipolar disorder, but no systematic research has yet taken place. This study seeks to develop a step-by-step approach to the development and evaluation of Compassion Focused Therapy for people with bipolar disorder.

  What?
  We will invite adults with bipolar disorder who are already in contact with the Birmingham Bipolar Clinic to participate in Compassion-Focused group Therapy and to co-produce with us a version of this therapy which is tailored to those with bipolar disorder.

  Who?
  People can take part if they: Currently attend or have previously attended Birmingham bipolar clinic; have a diagnosis of bipolar; understand the purpose of the study and are prepared to take part; are over 18 years old; are able to understand verbal and written English

  Where?
  Participants will take part in group therapy at the Birmingham Bipolar Clinic.

  How?
  Participants will complete baseline measures of mood, compassion, self-criticism, social safeness, social comparison and heart rate variability. They will then take part in 12 group sessions of Compassion focused therapy lasting 2hrs each time. They will then be asked to complete the same questionnaires and heart rate variability measures again and will be invited to take part in a focus group about how they experienced the therapy and what would they change about the therapy to improve it. The questionnaires and heart rate variability measures will also be completed at follow-up 3 months later and 1 year later to see how long lasting any effects of therapy are.

• REC name

  London - Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/LO/1234

• Date of REC Opinion

  24 Jul 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion