TY - JOUR
T1 - Managing emotions in psychosis
T2 - Evaluation of a brief DBT-informed skills group for individuals with psychosis in routine community services
AU - Lawlor, Caroline
AU - Vitoratou, Silia
AU - Duffy, James
AU - Cooper, Ben
AU - De Souza, Tanisha
AU - Le Boutillier, Clair
AU - Carter, Ben
AU - Hepworth, Claire
AU - Jolley, Suzanne
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank the service users who participated in the groups and the clinicians who have supported this project. Dr Caroline Lawlor, NIHR301044 is funded by Health Education England (HEE)/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Dr Silia Vitoratou and Dr Ben Carter are funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS, or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Funders were not involved in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication: these activities were all undertaken by and are the responsibility of the lead authors and the authorship team.
Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank the service users who participated in the groups and the clinicians who have supported this project. Dr Caroline Lawlor, NIHR301044 is funded by Health Education England (HEE)/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Dr Silia Vitoratou and Dr Ben Carter are funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS, or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Funders were not involved in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication: these activities were all undertaken by and are the responsibility of the lead authors and the authorship team.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - Objectives: Individuals with psychosis report that emotion regulation (ER) difficulties are treatment priorities, yet little is known about how targeted ER interventions may help. We evaluated a new eight-session Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)–informed skills group specifically adapted for individuals with psychosis: the Managing Emotions Group (MEG) in diverse, inner-city community services. Method: A mixed-method design was utilised to assess the feasibility (acceptability and potential clinical impact) of local delivery of MEG. Uptake, completion (≥50% of sessions), post-session satisfaction ratings, and thematic analysis of qualitative feedback from 12 completers assessed acceptability. Pre–post-intervention changes in psychological distress, self-reported ER difficulties, and adaptive ER skill use assessed potential clinical impact. Results: Forty-eight individuals (81% of attenders) completed the intervention (M
age = 43, 54% female) of whom 39 completed pre- and post-group measures. Participants reported high satisfaction and meaningful improvements in understanding and managing emotions, with positive impact on daily life. Self-reported psychological distress, ER difficulties, and adaptive ER skill use significantly improved, with medium-to-large pre-post effects (d = 0.5–0.7) except lack of emotional clarity (d = 0.3). Conclusions: MEG was feasible and acceptable, and a future feasibility randomised controlled trial is warranted. Practitioner points: Individuals with psychosis report that support with their emotions is a priority. Brief interventions for emotion regulation difficulties are acceptable to individuals with psychosis and can be feasibly delivered in a local outpatient service. Distress and emotion regulation difficulties and skills improved significantly from pre–post treatment for clients completing the managing emotions group. Further implementation and evaluation are needed to support continued refinement to meet the needs and priorities of individuals with psychosis.
AB - Objectives: Individuals with psychosis report that emotion regulation (ER) difficulties are treatment priorities, yet little is known about how targeted ER interventions may help. We evaluated a new eight-session Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)–informed skills group specifically adapted for individuals with psychosis: the Managing Emotions Group (MEG) in diverse, inner-city community services. Method: A mixed-method design was utilised to assess the feasibility (acceptability and potential clinical impact) of local delivery of MEG. Uptake, completion (≥50% of sessions), post-session satisfaction ratings, and thematic analysis of qualitative feedback from 12 completers assessed acceptability. Pre–post-intervention changes in psychological distress, self-reported ER difficulties, and adaptive ER skill use assessed potential clinical impact. Results: Forty-eight individuals (81% of attenders) completed the intervention (M
age = 43, 54% female) of whom 39 completed pre- and post-group measures. Participants reported high satisfaction and meaningful improvements in understanding and managing emotions, with positive impact on daily life. Self-reported psychological distress, ER difficulties, and adaptive ER skill use significantly improved, with medium-to-large pre-post effects (d = 0.5–0.7) except lack of emotional clarity (d = 0.3). Conclusions: MEG was feasible and acceptable, and a future feasibility randomised controlled trial is warranted. Practitioner points: Individuals with psychosis report that support with their emotions is a priority. Brief interventions for emotion regulation difficulties are acceptable to individuals with psychosis and can be feasibly delivered in a local outpatient service. Distress and emotion regulation difficulties and skills improved significantly from pre–post treatment for clients completing the managing emotions group. Further implementation and evaluation are needed to support continued refinement to meet the needs and priorities of individuals with psychosis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124566701&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/bjc.12359
DO - 10.1111/bjc.12359
M3 - Article
SN - 0144-6657
VL - 61
SP - 735
EP - 756
JO - British Journal of Clinical Psychology
JF - British Journal of Clinical Psychology
IS - 3
ER -