Eleven NHS trusts in the northwest of England have launched a 60-person clinical trial to test the effectiveness of recovery-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) on people who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder for less than 5 years.
Lancaster University’s Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research (LUSC) will host the trial on two groups of volunteers all of whom had a recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Recovery-focused CBT differs from traditional CBT because it is driven by an individual’s own therapeutic goals and sessions are tailored to a person’s own bipolar experiences. It also does not require people to conform to a specific pattern of illness.
The trial will include the services of trained mental health professionals who will offer up to 18 hours of face-to-face therapy over 6 months.
It is anticipated that the results of the study will also inform how early treatment can help people with severe mental illness in general.
Professor Steven Jones of LUSC said: “There is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of structured psychological therapies for bipolar disorder.
“To date, however, there have been no psychological interventions specifically designed for individuals with early bipolar disorder. We want to find out if the recovery-focused CBT – which includes mood monitoring and awareness, regularisation of routines, coping strategies and problem solving training – has more impact if an individual is introduced to it early on.”
Rita Long, a researcher at the LUSC who also has bipolar disorder, added: “I don’t think there was anything like this available when I first became ill.
“I’m sure if I had been offered something like this then I would have been able to get on with my life so much quicker. It’s great that this therapy helps people like me decide how they want to live their lives and then get support to ‘get on with it’. Maybe when this therapy starts to ‘kick in’ then people will realise how much talent there is in the bipolar community.”
The NHS trusts taking part in the trial are: Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton Primary Care Trust, Salford Primary Care Trust, Trafford Primary Care Trust, Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Manchester Primary Care Trust, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, North Lancashire Primary Care Trust, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation and Cumbria Primary Care Trust.
