Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy for Psychosis V.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy for Psychosis: Anticipated acceptability and intervention refinement
IRAS ID
334878
Contact name
Liz Murphy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
GMMH NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Psychosis includes hearing voices or seeing things (hallucinations) and believing things that are not true (delusions). There are 270,000 NHS patients receiving treatment for psychosis. Despite nearly all being on antipsychotic medication, outcome remains poor for too many. Life expectancy is reduced 20 years on average, suicide rates are 10%, and societal costs are £12 billion annually. Service users want choice and access to talking therapy, but therapy is still hard to access in psychosis services. Even when offered, many are unable to engage with or benefit from current therapy provision.
We now know that problematic relationships contribute to the development, exacerbation and recurrence of psychosis; including childhood trauma, social isolation and social stigma. Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) is a type of talking therapy that focuses improving relationships and processing feelings. Previous randomised controlled trials (RCTs) show that PIT is helpful for a range of conditions including borderline personality disorder, self-harm and medically unexplained physical symptoms. However, PIT has not been trialled in psychosis. In fact, there are no RCTs of any type of contemporary psychodynamic therapy, such as PIT, for psychosis.
This study aims to refine PIT for people with psychosis in receipt NHS services in Greater Manchester. We will talk to service users and clinicians to ask their views on PIT for psychosis, and whether they think the intervention is acceptable. Their feedback will help us to adapt PIT for psychosis. Our methods include interviews with service users with psychosis, a focus group with clinicians working with psychosis, and a focus group with PIT therapists. This qualitative study will last one year. Once the intervention is refined, we will then test the PIT for psychosis in a separate study involving a small RCT, to see if it is feasible to conduct a larger trial in future.
REC name
London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/1527
Date of REC Opinion
13 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion