SlowMo trial: a digital therapy for people who fear harm from others.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The SlowMo Trial: A randomised controlled trial of a digital therapy for people who fear harm from others.
IRAS ID
206680
Contact name
Philippa Garety
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
‘Every day, I think they are following me and am terrified that they will kill me.’ ‘Ben’ believes he is in danger. When someone looks at him in the street he decides he is under attack. He rushes home and avoids going out. People often experience distressing worries about other people intentionally causing harm, also known as paranoia. Paranoia is one of the most common symptoms of severe mental health problems and is associated with marked distress and disruption to people’s lives.
We know paranoia tends to be associated with certain thinking habits, called fast thinking. Ben feels sure of what is happening based on his instincts, does not look for more information or consider other possible ideas. We all think fast and this can be helpful in some situations. At other times, fast thinking may contribute to us feeling more stressed than we need to be. SlowMo therapy works by supporting people to notice their upsetting worries and fast thinking habits, and then provides tips to help them slow down for a moment to notice new information and safer thoughts.
SlowMo was developed by service users, designers, researchers and clinicians. It consists of eight individual, face to face sessions, assisted by a website with interactive stories and games, to help people find out how fast thinking habits can contribute to upsetting thoughts. People try out tips to learn what helps them slow down their thinking and cope with worries, and a mobile app supports the use of these strategies in daily life. For further information please see www.slowmotherapy.co.uk.
We will find out whether SlowMo reduces paranoia; people from three NHS areas (London, Sussex and Oxford), once they agree, will be chosen randomly to receive SlowMo plus standard treatment (180 people) or standard treatment (180 people). We will measure changes immediately after treatment and 6 months later, and assess effects on distress, paranoia severity, wellbeing, quality of life, and service use. We will investigate how SlowMo works: do changes in fast thinking reduce worries about others; do differences in beliefs, memory, and motivation influence this?
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1862
Date of REC Opinion
1 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion