Responding to the trauma needs of people with first episode psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating the Use of Tailored Staff Training and a Trauma Screening Tool in an Early Intervention in Psychosis service
IRAS ID
326938
Contact name
Tanya Smallbones
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Central Lancashire
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Childhood trauma is strongly associated with the development of psychosis (Bloomfield et al., 2020). Psychosis itself, both symptoms and treatment, can also be traumatising (Buswell, Haime, Lloyd-Evans, & Billings, 2021). Despite this, the response of mental health services to trauma remains poor (Neill & Read, 2022). NHS Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams support people experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP) but little is known about how this service is responding to clients with trauma histories. Chadwick and Billings (2022) recommend that mental health staff receive training that targets their understanding, skills and confidence, to improve clients’ experiences of talking about trauma.
The purpose of this project is to improve how three EIP teams in the South West understand and respond to trauma contributing to, or as a result of, psychosis. It aims to determine how EIP mental health professionals (MHPs) make sense of the phenomena and to deliver training tailored to their learning needs. This will include the use of a trauma screening tool (TALE) which has been developed by researchers and service users but which is under-used (Carr & Hardy, 2018). Both the training and the tool will be evaluated through questionnaire and interview with staff and clients. It is hoped that this study will improve the experience of service users talking about trauma to staff in EIP teams.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0130
Date of REC Opinion
19 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion