Solutions Trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Brief Solution Focused Therapy (BSFT) in 10–17-year-olds presenting at police custody: A Randomised Controlled Trial with internal pilot.
IRAS ID
316435
Contact name
Julia Badger
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN14195235
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Children and young people who come into contact with the police often need help. This trial aims to test out whether offering these children and young people a psychological treatment called Brief Solution Focused Therapy is helpful (BSFT). BSFT is a short-term therapy that helps people to change by focusing on building solutions rather than getting stuck thinking about problems. We want to find whether this treatment works by running a clinical trial. We will give some children and young people BSFT plus the routine treatment that they would normally get. Other children and young people will only get the routine treatment that is currently offered after police contact. We will decide who gets which treatment at random, which is like flipping a coin.
In order to work out whether BSFT is helpful, our trial has two parts. In the first part, we will run what is called a ‘pilot’, this tests whether the trial can be run. If we find that this is the case, we will then move to do the second part, which is continuing with the main trial by inviting more children and young people to take part.
All of the children and young people who take part will be asked to complete some measures of things that may change because of taking part in BSFT. We are particularly interested in whether they are involved in any antisocial behaviours over the course of the trial. We will also ask about their background, their general well-being, any criminal activity they have been involved with in the past and any gang connections. We will also interview some of the children and young people receiving BSFT, their parents/guardians, and the professionals that deliver the BSFT therapy. We will ask them about their experiences of taking part in the trial.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0198
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion