iMAgery focused therapy for PSychosis-2 (iMAPS-2)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
iMAgery focused therapy for PSychosis-2 (iMAPS-2): A feasibility randomised controlled trial
IRAS ID
309409
Contact name
Christopher Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Research and Innovation Manager
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN81150786
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NIHR Reference Number, NIHR203507
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 20 days
Research summary
“I really do think the therapy helped me. The images don’t really occur too much anymore. I don’t think about them…, as much as I did before the therapy. I’m putting “changing the meaning of memories [imagery therapy]”, I’m using that for other things that have troubled me in the past.” Participant iMAPS-1
Aims. Our research aims to improve the current treatments for people with psychosis. We wish to test how feasible it is to undertake a clinical trial of a talking therapy that specifically targets distressing “mental imagery” e.g. “pictures in the mind’s eye, sounds in the mind’s ear”, and negative beliefs, frequently reported but infrequently treated.
Background. Psychosis is a mental health condition, where individuals hear distressing voices other people cannot hear and/or have distressing unusual beliefs, which others do not share. They also report negative core beliefs called schema (e.g. “I am a failure; others are hostile”) and unwanted (intrusive) pictures in the mind’s eye “mental images”. Sadly, current psychological therapies do not work for everyone.
Methods. We will ask 45 people with psychosis to take part: 30 will have iMAPS and usual care and the other 15 their usual care. The project will tell us if we may be able to run a bigger version of the trial. We will only know if the intervention works, when we do the bigger study, but this is an important step.
Patient and Public Involvement. Patients have been and will be involved in: helping to design studies and the therapy, deciding on measures, helping us highlight the study, interpreting the findings and helping us spread the word.
We will tell people about what we find including via practice manuals, workshops and conferences and scientific publications.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0091
Date of REC Opinion
9 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion