Studies Recruiting at ELFT

Summary: Postpartum Psychosis is the most severe form of mental illness associated with childbirth. Symptoms vary, and can change very rapidly. These can include extreme changes in mood, false beliefs, false sensory perceptions and confusion. Psychosis represents a loss of contact with reality and can be an incredibly frightening experience for a new mother and her family. Postpartum Psychosis is a medical emergency, because it can lead to suicide and infanticide.

Women with Bipolar Disorder are at particularly high risk of developing Postpartum Psychosis, but only a proportion of them will become unwell after having a baby. Whilst there are some recognised risk factors for Postpartum Psychosis, half of cases are "out of the blue" and occur in women with no previous mental health problems.

With immediate treatment and support, most women who experience Postpartum Psychosis will fully recover. Our research aims to improve early intervention for these women, and we believe the best strategy to achieve this is twofold:

• By focusing on the earliest and most common symptom: sleep disturbance
• By empowering maternity staff to deliver safe emergency mental healthcare

The SLEEPP Study aims to:
1. Understand whether accurately monitoring sleep after childbirth can help predict who will develop the early signs of Postpartum Psychosis
2. Compare the genetic makeup of women with Bipolar Disorder who develop Postpartum Psychosis after having a baby and those who do not, with a particular focus on sleep genes
3. Interview women with lived experience of Postpartum Psychosis to understand if and how sleep disruption played a role in their illness
4. Assess whether simulation of Postpartum Psychosis by professional actors can be used to train maternity staff effectively
5. Interview maternity staff to identify common barriers to safe emergency mental healthcare

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion:

• ≥18 years of age
• Current inpatient at The East London Mother and Baby Unit with a primary diagnosis of Postpartum Psychosis
• Deemed by the psychiatric team to be close to discharge, with adequate insight into their illness

Exclusion:

• Admitted with a primary diagnosis other than Postpartum Psychosis
• Pre-existing diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Disorder or Psychotic Depression
• Still regularly experiencing florid symptoms of psychosis
• Inability to provide written informed consent

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Olivia Protti

To learn more, email: Isabel Graham (Lead CSO for SLEEPP)

Summary: This observational study is exploring how brain connections work in both healthy volunteers and people with mental health conditions. Participants will take a single oral dose of either levetiracetam (a medication) or a placebo before each scan and have up to six brain scans. The study aims to improve understanding of how brain cells communicate in mental illness.

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion for Schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients:

-Male or female >18 years old and < 65 years old.

-Adequate command of English to understand the information leaflet.

-Capacity to consent to participation in the study.

-Confirmation of DSM-5 diagnosis for schizophrenia spectrum disorder

-Patients should be clinically stable in a non-acute phase for at least four weeks prior to the screening visit.

-Treatment with stable doses psychiatric medication is not contraindicated.

Exclusion:

-Pregnancy or lactating mothers.

-Medical condition that can affect the safety of participant taking part in the study

-Anti-epileptic treatment or taking medication with known interaction with SV2A protein

-Allergy to LEV or ingredients of the placebo

-Significant history of substance misuse

-Participant in another medical trial

-Ferromagnetic body implant

-Claustrophobia/ unable to lie still in the scanner

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Susham Gupta

To learn more, email: Nargis Rahmanfard (Lead CSO for LEV)

Summary: This study focuses on NHS staff from ethnic minority backgrounds and/or those who have migrated to the UK. Through in-depth interviews with staff and managers, researchers aim to understand the reasons why some staff leave the NHS and what can be done to better support retention.

Inclusion Criteria: 

Managers – working in NHS setting in a managerial role, willing to give informed consent and be interviewed.

Other staff – Aged 16 and over. Working in the NHS, in clinical or non-clinical role, and thinking of leaving OR have already left their NHS role. All ethnicities and backgrounds welcome but ethnic minorities particularly encouraged to participate. Must be willing to give informed consent and be interviewed about the reasons why they left/are thinking of leaving.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Rahul Bhattacharya

To learn more, email: Anna Myerscough (Lead CSO for ICare)

Summary: This project looks at how mental capacity is assessed when urgent clinical decisions are needed. By observing current practice, the study aims to improve the way professionals assess decision-making capacity in fast-paced healthcare situations.

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria: 

HELPS will focus on three service users’ groups: people with mental health problems, physical health problems or learning disabilities, and interview family members/friends (carers) of service users.

Any service users (and supporting carers) who are observed receiving a mental capacity assessment during fieldwork or have received a capacity assessment in the last three months will be invited for interview.

Inclusion: Three sampling criteria:

1) being representative of organisational barriers and best practices as identified previously in work package 1;

2) geographic location, i.e. North of England, Midlands, South of England, Wales;

3) areas with different ethnic diversity, to identify variation in experience of working with people from different ethnic groups as well as a proxy variable for urbanicity and social deprivation.

Exclusion: Being a professional, a service user or a service user’s carer without any experience in MC assessment under the Mental Capacity Act.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Rikke Albert

To learn more, email: Nargis Rahmanfard (Lead CSO for HELPPS)

Summary: A feasibility study testing a peer-led group clinic programme for people with severe mental illness who also have metabolic syndrome (a risk factor for heart disease). The intervention offers tailored exercise and diet support, helping participants work towards their own health goals with guidance from trained peers.

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion Criteria:

Service users

Participants will:

• Be aged 18 to 75 years
• Have capacity to consent to participate in research
• Currently on the caseload of mental health services in community settings or on GP/ ICS severe mental illness (SMI) list
• Current primary diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (ICD-10 diagnoses F20–29) or bipolar disorder (F31) or in Early Intervention for Psychosis Services (EIPS) with formal diagnosis of psychosis (ICD-10 diagnoses of F29) or an aforementioned diagnosis.
• If on psychotropic medication, on stable dose for 90 days
• Enhanced CVD risk as indicated by metabolic syndrome (modified NCEP ATPIII definition) (modified NCEP ATPIII definition) confirmed at screening as any three of:
  • waist circumference over 102cm in men (or >90cm in non-white men) (or over 88cm in women (or >80cm in non-white women)
  • blood pressure over 130/85 mmHg or documented hypertension on medication
  • fasting triglyceride level over 1.7mmol/l
  • high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level less than 0.9mmol/l (men), 1mmol/l (women)
  • a HbA1c > 37 mmol/mol (5.5%) or documented Type-2 diabetes (T2D) and on medication.
• If on treatment for T2D, hypertension or hyperlipidaemia, on stable dose medication for at least 90 days

Intervention staff

Participants will be peer (support) workers and registered mental health nurses (or other healthcare professionals or practitioners with appropriate training) who have been trained and engaged by their employing organisation (i.e. one of the four sites) to deliver (co-facilitate) the PEGASUS intervention for the purposes of this study

Exclusion criteria

Service users

People who:

• Are currently admitted to acute psychiatric care (i.e. inpatient admission or current referral to a Crisis & Home Treatment Team)
• Have a primary diagnosis of alcohol or substance misuse
• Are awaiting/going through assessment with EIPS but without formal diagnosis
• Have a diagnosis of an organic mental health disorder (e.g. dementia)
• Are currently in receipt of a highly structured and/ or multi-goal healthy lifestyle intervention (e.g. an intervention that combines structured diet and exercise goals, or a highly structured research-based intervention such as DIAMONDS or PRIMROSE-A). Note: referral to single goal lifestyle support, as typically provided in the voluntary-sector or as online NHS advice, is considered as part of care as usual and will be assessed in both trial groups (see secondary outcomes below)
• HbA1c > 86 mmol/mol (10%)
• Blood pressure or hyperlipidaemia managed outside of primary care
• Type 1 diabetes

Intervention staff

Peer (Support) Workers, registered mental health nurses or other healthcare professionals or practitioners who are not trained for delivering the PEGASUS intervention for the purposes of this study.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Frank Rohricht

To learn more, email: Adanna Uzoma (Lead CSA for Pegasus) or Tamar Sollman (Research Data Coordinator)

Summary: A clinical trial testing whether clozapine can be used earlier in the treatment of psychosis. This randomised controlled trial focuses on young people with treatment-resistant psychosis and aims to understand how well clozapine works in real-world NHS settings.

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria:

Inclusion Criteria
•    Age ≥12 and <25 years at baseline. 
•    Meets criteria for schizophrenia or related disorder, in the range ICD-10v2016 F20.x, F22.x-F29.x 
•    Meets NICE criteria for treatment resistance, defined as: 

• a. Previous trials of at least two different antipsychotic drugs with adequate adherence (estimated <20% missed doses) – both treatment trials to exceed 4 weeks at adequate doses (within the dose range given in the British National Formulary and the British National Formulary for children).
• b. At least 1 of these trials must be with a second-generation drug.

•    Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total ≥70, at least 2 items >4 
•    Clinician Rating Scale [24] (CRS) ≥3. 
•    Capacity to give informed consent OR has a legal representative able to give consent to the study.

Exclusion Criteria: 
•    Psychosis predominantly caused by substance misuse. 
•    Pregnancy. 
•    Breastfeeding. 
•    Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP*) not using at least acceptable methods of contraception** during the study 
•    Previous adequate trial of clozapine. 
•    CNS disorders (ICD-10 G00-26; G40-41, G45-46; G80-94, G97). 
•    Concurrent medications with documented interactions with antipsychotics. 
•    Participation in a clinical trial involving any unlicensed investigational medical product within the last 3 months. 
•    Positive test for COVID-19 within the past 10 days. 
•    Current Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 
•    For participation in the substudy MRI scan only, standard contraindications to MRI at 3 Tesla such as ferromagnetic or electronic implants.

* WOCBP defined as: fertile, following menarche and until becoming post-menopausal unless permanently sterile. Permanent sterilisation methods include hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. A postmenopausal state is defined as no menses for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. 

** acceptable methods of contraception include: 
•    progestogen-only oral hormonal contraception, where inhibition of ovulation is not the primary mode of action 
•    male or female condom with or without spermicide *** 
•    cap, diaphragm or sponge with spermicide ***

*** A combination of male condom with either cap, diaphragm or sponge with spermicide (double barrier methods) are also considered acceptable, but not highly effective, birth control methods 23

Acceptable methods are the minimum requirement. It should be noted that the requirement for ‘at least acceptable methods of contraception’ would include the above methods but also include all ‘highly effective’ methods listed below: 

•    combined (estrogen and progestogen containing) hormonal 
•    contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation 1: oral 
•    intravaginal 
•    transdermal 
•    progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation 1: oral 
•    injectable 
•    implantable 
•    intrauterine device (IUD) 
•    intrauterine hormone-releasing system ( IUS) 
•    bilateral tubal occlusion 
•    vasectomised partner 
•    sexual abstinence (if defined as refraining from heterosexual intercourse during the entire period of risk associated with the study treatments). 

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Alex Sales

To learn more, email: Adanna Uzoma (Lead CSA for CLEAR)

Summary: A large trial testing a new, digitally-enabled group therapy programme for common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. The 12-session intervention combines digital tools with group psychotherapy and is designed to be flexible, addressing a range of mental health needs.

Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria: To follow.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Chris Spanton

To learn more, email: Isabel Graham or Anna Myerscough (Lead CSOs for UpLiftX)

Summary: Up to a quarter of women struggle with serious anxiety symptoms during pregnancy. Many women will not improve without treatment, with symptoms continuing postnatally and for some, leading to depression. High anxiety during pregnancy is related to negative outcomes in childbirth, baby development and difficulty in bonding with baby. Babies of mothers who struggle with anxiety during pregnancy can have more problems with their emotions, behaviours and cognitive development. There is a lack of high quality research about the best way to help mothers. In the NHS most mothers with antenatal anxiety (65%) are seen in primary mental health care (IAPT), but IAPT lacks treatments that specifically address antenatal anxiety.

In a feasibility study a 5-session group intervention (CALM) that gives pregnant women tools to manage anxiety, particularly worries about pregnancy was developed and tested. The CALM treatment includes partners or a close support and the group encourages peer support. This current large trial will evaluate whether offering CALM together with usual treatment is more effective for pregnant women who have problems with anxiety, compared to usual treatment on its own. Over an 18-month-period, the study will recruit 484 women to the trial from five sites, both urban and rural, that have people from different ethnic and income backgrounds. The research team will work with community connectors to help engage pregnant women from diverse backgrounds. Most of CALM will be delivered online. There will be a tablet loan library (and data) allowance for those who need this.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria include women and birthing persons who are:

• 18 years or older and can provide consent to the study
• Eligible to be seen in primary care NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression (NHS TTad) services
• Score above a clinical threshold on a widely used anxiety measure (GAD-7; 8 or more)      

Exclusion criteria include:

• Women and birthing persons who are actively suicidal
• Substance abuse
• Psychosis - whether individual has ever been diagnosed with psychosis or bipolar I
• Childbirth-related PTSD
• Current psychological treatment for anxiety at baseline interview.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Sophie Gullick

To learn more, email: Isabel Graham (Lead CSO for ACORN II)

Summary: About 18% of people with learning disability (also known as intellectual disability or ID) have behavioural problems such as being aggressive towards other people. Reasons include mental health problems and having a poor quality of life such as not having meaningful activities or friends. Behavioural problems can lead to the person being excluded from day services and having to leave their home if family and paid carers cannot cope with the behaviour. They may also be admitted to psychiatric hospital. There are psychological approaches that try to understand the cause of behaviour but only improve behaviour for short periods and do not appear to improve quality of life. One existing approach called DIALOG+, delivered by health professionals and supported by an app, does improve quality of life in people with mental health problems, but it has not been used in people with ID. The research team want to make DIALOG+ accessible and suitable for people with ID and to test if it improves quality of life and reduces behavioural problems.

The research team will develop an adapted co-produced version of DIALOG+ (aDIALOG+) and will do some initial testing with 5 clinicians from community ID teams and 5 care workers who will deliver aDIALOG+ to service users. The team will then carry out a feasibility study of aDIALOG+ to see if it can be used by clinicians in community ID services and care workers in care homes. The team will see if they can recruit enough clinicians (12), care workers (about 30-50 from 10 care homes) and service users (30 from community teams and about 40 from care homes) to take part, and look at how often aDIALOG+ is delivered. The team will interview service users, clinicians and care workers to find out what they liked and did not like about aDIALOG+ and what could be improved.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria:

Service Users Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 18 or over
• Mild or moderate ID based on service records / clinical notes
• Current history of behaviour that challenges (at least one incident of self-injurious behaviour, physical aggression or damage to property in the last 3 months)
• Living in any setting including the family home and supported living/ residential home
• Can provide informed verbal or written consent

Clinicians Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 18 or over
• Currently working within a community ID service, intensive support team or in a local authority or social care organisation for people with ID
• From any profession (e.g. psychology, nursing, speech and language therapy, psychiatry, social work), grade 4 and above with a minimum of six months experience working with people with ID
• Consent to participation

Care Workers Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 18 or over
• Have worked in the care home for at least three months
• Provide at least one day of support per week to service users
• Consent to participation

Exclusion criteria:

Service Users Exclusion Criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Severe ID based on service records / clinical notes
• Likely to move out of borough within the next three months or at imminent risk of hospital admission
• Unable to provide informed verbal or written consent

Clinicians Exclusion Criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Not currently working within a community ID service, intensive support team or in a local authority or social care organisation for people with ID
• Below grade 4 and less than six months experience working with people with ID
• Do not consent to participation

Care Workers Exclusion Criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Have worked in the care home for less than three months
• Do not provide at least one day of support per week to service users
• Do not consent to participation

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Afia Ali

To learn more, email: Anna Myerscough (Lead CSO for ICONIC)

Summary: This study is looking at the use of smart phones in capturing new types of data which can accurately assess the physiological and psychological health status of an individual with an eating disorder. This research aims to make it easier for people with eating disorders to track their health both in clinics and at home.

Inclusion/Exclusion Critiera

Inclusion criteria:

• 10 years old or older.
• Diagnosed with an eating disorder by a clinician, ICD-10 (F50.0 through F50.9) or ICD-11 (6B80 – 6B85; 6B8Y, 6B8Z) classificatio
• Must have a minimum once weekly in-person clinic physical assessment as part of their current treatment plan
• Fluent in English
• Capable of reading and understanding the information sheets and consent forms to provide written informed consent.
• For participants under 16 years, parental consent is required, a parent or legal guardian must also be able to read and understand the information sheets and consent forms to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria:

• Active substance use such as drug or alcohol misuse
• A diagnosis of  mental and behavioural disorders due to substances
• A diagnosis of a neurological disorder
• A diagnosis of schizophrenia or related psychotic disorder
• Pregnancy
• A diagnosis of developmental learning disorder or intellectual disorders

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Erica Cini

To learn more, contact: Isabel Graham (Lead CSO on Univa)

Summary:  The aim of the PPiP2 study is to assess large number of people suffering from psychosis and identify those with anti-neuronal membrane antibodies in their serum which might be causing their illness. Participants with anti-neuronal membrane antibodies will be invited to take part in the SINAPPS2 trial. The immune system normally controls our ability to fight infection. If the immune system goes wrong it may attack our own body, causing diseases called ‘autoimmune’ diseases. It has been discovered that some of these autoimmune diseases can affect the brain, and in the early stages of the disease they can manifest through symptoms of psychosis.

We can diagnose some of these autoimmune diseases using blood tests to detect specific antibodies.  We are specifically interested in antibodies that may be the cause of symptoms of psychosis and possibly in some cases of schizophrenia. 

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria:

• Age 16-60  
• Acute psychotic symptom(s) lasting more than 2 weeks but no longer than 2 years in current episode (first episode of psychosis or relapse after at least 6 month of remission)

Exclusion criteria:  

• Any neurological disorder
• Pregnancy 

ELFT Principal Investigator: Flavia Napoletano

To learn more, contact: Email Nargis Rahmanfard (Lead CSO for PPIP2)

Summary: The aim of EDGI is to investigate genetic and environmental risk factors in individuals who may suffer, have suffered from, or have been diagnosed with an Eating Disorder, alongside facilitating recruitment of volunteers with Eating Disorders into the NIHR BioResource – Research Tissue Bank (NBR-RTB).   

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion Criteria: 

• Participants who are aged 16 or over.
• Participants who have a lifetime occurrence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, or any other eating disorder defined in DSM-5.
• Participants who have been diagnosed and/or treated for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder or any other eating disorder defined in DSM-5.
• Participants with a probable and undiagnosed eating disorder identified through a screening questionnaire.
• Participants who have not stated their refusal to take part in future research.
• Participants who are willing to donate a biological sample for genetic analysis.
• Participants who are currently living or have permanent residence in England  

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Erica Cini

To learn more, contact: Email Nargis Rahmanfard (Lead CSO for EDGI)

Summary: The GLAD Study is exploring genetic risk factors in individuals who have suffered with or been diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety. The GLAD Study is currently the largest study focussing on Anxiety/depression and is a way for those who have experienced the conditions to join the NIHR Mental Health BioResource. The NIHR BioResource is a national initiative where the aim is to collect genetic and clinical data from volunteers to build up a central library of information about people’s health. The project will explore genetic and environmental risk factors associated with depression and anxiety disorders in the UK, to better understand these common disorders and help develop better treatments.   

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion Criteria: 

• Participants who meet screening criteria for depression and anxiety and/or treated for depression or anxiety. 
• Participants who are aged 16 or over. 
• Participants who consent to be contacted about future recall studies based on their genotype and phenotype. 
• Participants who are currently living or have permanent residence in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales

ELFT Principal Investigator: Professor Frank Rohricht  

To learn more, contact: Email Anna Myerscough (Lead CSO for GLAD) 

Summary: East London Genes and Health is supporting studies looking at how genes influence disease. By involving large numbers of local Bangladeshi and Pakistani people the study hopes to find new ways of improving the health of Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in East London and worldwide. The participants will be asked to donate a small saliva sample and share their GP and hospital medical records in strict with confidence with the study team.  

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: 

Inclusion Criteria: 

• People living within reach of East London, or (second site) Bradford.
• Self described ethnicity: Bangladeshi, British-Bangladeshi, Pakistani, British-Pakistani
• Age 16 or over (no upper limit)
• Willingness to give a saliva DNA sample for analysis
• Willingness to grant investigators access to medical records (GP, Hospital, and national NHS) for the full duration (stage 1 and stage 2) of the study.
• Willingness to receive invitations for recall (stage 2 research activity) for the duration of the study (actual participation in all stage 2 research activity would be after a second informed consent process).

 Exclusion Criteria: 

• There will be no exclusion on the basis of gender, or disease status.
• Patients with mental and learning disabilities are included provided they are deemed competent to consent. However, patients with significant cognitive impairment will be excluded from the study as they may have reduced capacity to both comprehend the research and to agree to participate in it.  

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Nick Bass

To learn more, email: Anna Myerscough (Lead CSO for Genes & Health)

Summary: People with Intellectual Disability who display offending behaviour, or extreme behaviours that challenge, may be managed in prison or in a mental health hospital.

When they struggle with their mental health they may need to be transferred to a hospital from prison. Or they may need to be transferred to a secure hospital ward that has a higher level of security and staff to keep them safe.

In these situations, clinicians (Doctors, Nurses and Psychologists) do assessments to decide which is the best place for these people. These are called Access Assessments.

There are scoring tools that can be used as part of Access Assessments to help clinicians decide where someone should be cared for but these haven’t been researched for people with Intellectual Disability. If these tools work for those with Intellectual Disability then it will help make sure they are transferred to the right place that will keep them safe and help them get well.

This project will review Access Assessments for transfer to secure hospitals over the past few years in patient’s health records to see if the DUNDRUM scoring tool could help clinicians make better decisions. All personal information (like names and addresses) will be removed before an independent doctor looks at the assessment and decide the DUNDRUM score.

The research will indicate if the DUNDRUM scoring tool works for people with Intellectual Disability. Results will be published in scientific journals and the findings shared with people with Intellectual Disability and their families and carers.

Chief Investigator: Dr Iain McKinnon

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Sanjay Nelson, Consultant Psychiatrist

To learn more, contact: Dr Sanjay Nelson

Summary: A study to explore the lived experience perspectives of physical multimorbidity (MM) among East London residents living with psychosis, focusing on psychosocial risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

There are 2 participant cohorts for this study. Service-Users diagnosed with a psychotic disorder and Healthcare Professionals that work with the service-users at ELFT.

Inclusion criteria:

Group A – Participants with Psychosis
• Adults with a confirmed psychotic disorder diagnosis
• At least two long-term physical illnesses
• Residing in East London (recruited via ELFT)
• Has a clinical care coordinator
• Able and willing to give written and informed consent
• Have capacity
• Aged ≥ 18 years
• All genders
• All ethnicities
• All socioeconomic groupings

Group B – Healthcare Professionals
• Must be working within ELFT
• Must be working with the patient population of interest
• Able and willing to give written and informed consent
• Aged ≥ 18 years
• All genders
• All ethnicities
• All socioeconomic groupings

Chief Investigator: Dr Georgina Hosang

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Brent Elliot, Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams

To learn more: Discuss with your clinician then contact Dr Brent Elliot. 

Summary:  Cognitive assessments (used to assess mental abilities like memory) are an important part of clinical assessments in some settings, e.g. memory clinics where assessments of dementia are conducted. They help the clinicians decide if, for example, someone has dementia. This study therefore aims to see whether maths ability is linked with Dot Counting Test (DCT) performance.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria:

Inclusion criteria will be any patient under the care of East London NHS Foundation Trust’s forensic mental health services, whether they be inpatients or residing in the community.

Participants must be at least 18 years old, and have capacity to consent.

Exclusion criteria:  

Exclusion criteria are those that lack mental capacity to give informed consent, those that are sufficiently impaired by acute symptoms of mental illness that they would not be able to attend/concentrate sufficiently to the testing process, and those that would present too great a risk of harm to others that they could not be alone safely in a room with a researcher.

Chief Investigator: Dr Matthew Charles, Psychology Department, John Howard Centre

ELFT Principal Investigator: This is an ELFT Sponsored Study. 

To learn more: Discuss with your clinician and then contact Dr Charles. 

Summary: The study aims to determine how manualised group body oriented psychological therapy (group-BOPT) can be offered to patients with complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder / PTSD and to explore the potential benefits of the therapy (i.e. determining how well the therapy works, its relevance, and potential effects in reducing core symptoms of complex PTSD and corresponding subjective quality of life)

More specifically, the project aims to systematically evaluate the acceptance, safety and therapeutic impact of BOPT in preparation for a subsequent clinical pilot trial.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria:

• Patients are eligible to take part in the study if they have a confirmed diagnosis of c-PTSD according to the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ).
• All potential participants will have been identified as suitable for trauma therapy and be registered on a waiting list for therapy at one of the research sites.
• Age range 18-65
• Capacity to give informed consent and basic command of English language.
• Stable psychotropic medication (no medication or no change in medication in the last 3 months and no anticipated change)

Exclusion criteria:  

• Organic mental disorder
• Confirmed Diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Psychotic mental states
• No capacity to give informed consent (monitoring of capacity will occur throughout)
• Risk of suicide or self-harming behaviour necessitating hospitalisation.
• Any medical condition that restricts movements severely (immobility).

Chief Investigator: Professor Frank Rohricht

ELFT Principal Investigator: Jo Stubley (Tavistock and Portman Charity) and Frank Rohricht (ELFT)

To learn more: Discuss with your clinician and then contact Professor Frank Rohricht.

Summary: The study seeks to answer what factors do people with EUPD/BPD (Emotionally Unstable/Borderline Personality Disorder) consider likely to influence their decision to disclose their sexual behaviour during psychological therapy? AND how do people with EUPD/BPD make the decision whether to disclose about their sexual behaviour in therapy?

Chief Investigator: Bardana Singh

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr David Beecraft, Newham Mentalisation Service

To learn more, contact: Dr David Beecraft

Summary: The Transforming Care Agenda was set out by the UK government in 2011 following an abusive incident against people with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View, an independent hospital. The main action from this plan was to move patients back into community care. As support workers and managers are key mediators in approaches to ensure that people with learning disabilities can have a good quality of life, there is very little research that has been done looking at their experiences and direct impact it can make.

This study sought to find out what is the experience of support workers and managers, who are supporting people with learning disabilities who have moved from inpatient to community settings as part of the Transforming Care Agenda?

Chief Investigator: Kate Blamires, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Afia Ali

Summary: This study was a randomised controlled trial testing group cognitive therapy for men with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities who show harmful sexual behaviours. The study assessed whether this therapy can reduce sexual offences.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Sherry-Ann Turtan

Summary: There are lots of problems with dementia diagnosis in the NHS and more cost-effective tools that can support timely and accurate diagnosis are needed. Dementia pathologies target the auditory brain and can cause early changes in auditory scene analysis, spatial hearing and degraded speech perception. DIADEM was an observational cohort study which aimed to evaluate the utility of digital auditory biomarkers to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and stratification of patients with mild cognitive disorder in NHS memory clinics.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Nick Bass 

Lead CSO: Sarah Boughetane

Summary: CONTACT-GAD aimed to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a psychological intervention for treatment resistant Generalised Anxiety Disorder (TR-GAD) in older people within a randomised controlled trial. Generalised Anxiety Disorder is the most common anxiety disorder in older people, with an estimated prevalence of up to 11%. Although Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is not part of the current care pathway in the UK for older people in TR-GAD, it may be particularly suited to older people with TR-GAD. The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of tailored Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care in comparison to usual care alone for reducing anxiety in older people with TR-GAD.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Kitty Clark-Mcghee

Lead CSO: Nargis Rahmanfard

Summary: As people live longer, understanding how cognitive abilities change with age is increasingly important. Cognitive abilities generally decline slowly as we age, but in some cases, this decline can be more pronounced. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a condition where cognitive decline is greater than expected for someone's age but does not severely impact daily activities. This differentiates MCI from Alzheimer's dementia, a more serious condition involving significant brain cell death parallelled by cognitive and behavioural dysfunction. While distinct, MCI and dementia are related: 10-15% of those with MCI develop dementia each year, with 80% progressing within five years, making MCI an important dementia risk factor and a public health concern.

Pharmacological treatments for MCI are limited, but non-drug approaches like cognitive training show promise. These programs target various cognitive domains (e.g., language, memory, decision-making) and may include lifestyle interventions like exercise and nutrition. Cognitive training aims to strengthen cognitive abilities through structured tasks, improving both targeted and general cognitive functions.

This study focused on the Five Lives MED mobile app, a comprehensive cognitive training program for individuals with MCI. Unlike alternatives that often target only one cognitive area or require in-person sessions, Five Lives MED combines various cognitive exercises with physical activity coaching in a self-guided digital format that can be accessed at home from one’s own mobile device, making it more accessible and scalable.

The study assessed the app's effectiveness in improving overall cognitive function in people with MCI. It also evaluated its impact on specific thinking skills, quality of life, health knowledge, daily activities, and behavioural symptoms. By testing this app, the study aimed to offer a practical and effective tool for managing MCI and potentially delaying the onset of dementia.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Anneba Anwar

Lead CSO: Sarah Boughetane

Summary: This randomised controlled trial aimed to identify which brief, remote psychosocial intervention for people with SMHPs who report recent suicidal ideation or suicide attempt is most clinically effective and cost-effective in preventing avoidable admissions in comparison to treatment as usual. Furthermore, it aimed to determine the safety of the interventions. The brief remote interventions compared include structured peer support and safety planning. 

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Justyana Sierpatowska

Lead CSO: Alicia Nahar

Summary: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in young people globally according to the WHO (2014), and the strongest predictor of suicide is self-harm. Despite many young people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm, many of them have repeat attendances with very low rates of adolescents attending follow-up appointments. The aim of SASH, a randomised controlled trial, was to evaluate the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of a new brief psychological intervention in reducing repeat self-harm compared to treatment as usual in adolescents with self-harm who present to emergency departments.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Ruth Woolhouse 

Lead CSO: Isabel Graham

Summary: The aim of this study was to explore how concepts of one’s identity, such as race, gender, culture, sexuality and class are brought up during family therapy sessions. The Research Team aimed to understand how the concept of self-identity brought up during a family therapy session could impact the direction of therapy, its effectiveness and the overall well-being of the patient.

The study sought to recruit 4 family therapists (individuals) and 3-4 families (units of more than 1 person).

Chief Investigator: Dr Sim Roy-Chowdhury

ELFT Principal Investigator: Sandeep Kahloan

Summary: The aim of the non-portfolio study was to identify barriers that keep women experiencing perinatal mental health problems from reaching out for help. By working with women who were from different cultural backgrounds, the study aimed to find the link between religion and community of ethnic minority women and their hesitation to reach out to one of the mental health services.  

The study sought to recruit 5 women who only received care from ELFT and also 5 health professionals from ELFT.

Chief Investigator: Dr Rebecca Webb

ELFT Principal Investigator: Justine Cawley

Summary: This study sought to assess serotonergic neurotransmission in people with negative symptoms. This study assessed the relationship between serotonin and negative symptoms, as assessed by MRI and PET imaging. 

Chief Investigator: ELFT was a Participant Identification Centre (PIC) for this study. The Chief Investigator at Imperial College London was Professor Oliver Howes.

ELFT Principal Investigator: Dr Martin Osugo (Co-Investigator).