Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of online imagery focused techniques for people with psychosis
My name is Aimee McMullan and I am conducting this research as a student in the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme at Lancaster University.
Background
We would like to find out how feasible and acceptable an online intervention is for people with psychosis in the community, who experience mental images and persecutory delusions.
Who can take part?
People who have experienced psychosis, who has/had thoughts that others intend to harm you.
To take part you must:
- be between 18 and 60 years of age (inclusive)
- have a BMI between 18 and 36kg/m2
- be currently treated with an anti-depressant for at least 6 weeks
- still be experiencing symptoms of depression
- not have any medical disorders that affect your immune system
- not be pregnant, breastfeeding or trying for at least six months from enrolling
Please note, there are other criteria to meet to be eligible, we have only listed the ones that are easy for you to determine.
Participant involvement
- If you decide you would like to take part, you would be asked to take part in an initial assessment session lasting approximately one hour.
- If you are eligible then you would be asked to complete a number of baseline sessions, a minimum of two and a maximum of five sessions, these last approximately 30 minutes.
- These are followed by six therapy sessions delivered online with a trainee clinical psychologist and will last approximately one hour.
- Finally, there will be a post-therapy session lasting approximately one hour. Sessions will be recorded for supervision purposes and deleted at the end of the study. These sessions will use a range of imagery techniques and you will be asked to complete questionnaires before, after and during the intervention.
You will need to have internet access (or a smartphone with a data allowance) and a device that you can connect to an online video-conferencing platform e.g. Teams or Zoom.
You will also need access to a safe space that is private where you cannot be overheard and is confidential.
Potential benefits to participants
We are investigating a new way of working with persecutory thoughts. This intervention was found to be effective previously in face-to-face therapy, but we do not know how effective it is when delivered online.
How to take part
If you are interested in taking part, then you can contact Aimee McMullan at a.mcmullan@lancaster.ac.uk. Aimee is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist and a member of the research team. Aimee will be able to give you more information about taking part.
This study has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Lancaster University.