Research grant to develop support for mental health patients

Top researchers at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) have received a £2.5 million National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) grant to help develop effective treatment for people with depression, anxiety and psychotic experiences.

A new study, funded by the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) Programme, could help pave the way for new models of care to be designed to plug the gap in which a quarter of people who are getting help from Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) do not get routinely checked for paranoia or hearing voices. These include tailored ‘talking therapies’ and a training package for therapists working in psychological well-being services.

Jesus Perez and Peter Jones, who received the grant, led the successful application for the Tailoring evidence-based psychological therapY for People with common mental disorder including Psychotic EXperiences study (TYPPEX). It builds upon findings and work of CPFT’s award-winning CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Services.

Thousands of service-users tarred by several psychological well-being services across England will benefit from this study over the next five years.

Perez, lead consultant psychiatrist at CAMEO, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this significant grant to continue our work in finding the best treatments for people who suffer from psychotic experiences. It is recognition of the progress we have made in providing research-based specialised assessment, care and support to people experiencing psychosis.

“The TYPPEX study will develop a form of talking therapy that will meet the needs of people with a common mental health condition and psychotic experiences with the aim of increasing recovery rates. This talking therapy will be offered to service-users in familiar environments making it more accessible and less stigmatising than specialist mental health services. TYPPEX will also provide a blueprint for testing other therapies beyond current cognitive behavioural therapy and lead to more efficient NHS psychological wellbeing services.”

Jones said: “A number of people with common mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety, do not recover after receiving talking therapy from psychological wellbeing services. Some of them suffer more severe forms of common mental health problems including psychotic experiences. At the moment they don’t get the help they need and are sometimes referred to specialised psychosis services that focus on the risk of people developing more severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia.

“We want services to help people with the problems they have, not the illnesses they may, but probably won’t develop. We aim to develop precision psychotherapy for people with a particular combination of problems that just hasn’t been properly recognised in the past.

“The work is also controversial because it challenges the way professionals are taught to think. Service-users are well aware of the problem.”