INFORMATION:
"The effects on paranoia of SlowMo, a blended digital therapy targeting reasoning for people with 2 psychosis: a randomised controlled trial" Philippa Garety PhD, Thomas Ward PhD, Richard Emsley PhD, Kathryn Greenwood PhD, Daniel Freeman PhD, David Fowler MSc, Elizabeth Kuipers PhD, Paul Bebbington PhD, Mar Rus-Calafell PhD, Alison McGourty DPsych, Catarina Sacadura PsyD, Nicola Collett DClinPsy, Kirsty James MSc, Amy Hardy PhD) is published in JAMA Psychiatry. For further information on SlowMo http://slowmotherapy.co.uk/
Paranoia therapy app SlowMo helps people 'slow down' and manage their fears
A clinical trial has revealed that a new digitally supported therapy effectively supports people to manage paranoia to help them get on with life
2021-04-07
(Press-News.org) A new clinical trial from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience, in collaboration with Oxford University, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex University, and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has established an innovative therapy as an effective means of treating paranoid thoughts in people experiencing psychosis.
In research published in JAMA Psychiatry today, participants of the SlowMo therapy trial had eight face-to-face therapy sessions with support from an interactive web platform and app. The app, designed in collaboration with people experiencing psychosis and the Royal College of Art, is used outside the clinic to help individuals feel safer in daily life.
Paranoia is fuelled by "fast thinking"; a thinking style that is driven by instinct and gut feelings. Slowing down can help. SlowMo starts by supporting people to notice their fast thoughts, visualised as grey, fast-spinning bubbles. People learn to slow down for a moment using tips and personalised safer thoughts.
Professor Philippa Garety, Lead Researcher at SlowMo from King's IoPPN said, "In this trial, we have demonstrated that helping people to slow down their thinking, which is a simple idea, but very difficult to achieve unaided, reduces paranoia in everyday life, and improves quality of life and wellbeing. This has been made possible by devising a brief therapy which uses a powerful combination of therapy sessions and a personalised app. It is at least as effective as longer, more complex psychological treatments for paranoia, which are generally more challenging to deliver and frequently not available in clinical services. The results of this trial have been hugely exciting, and they point a way forwards to harnessing digital technology in the service of developing more effective treatments in the future."
362 people from three NHS Foundation Trusts took part in the trial, with half being provided with SlowMo therapy and their usual care, while the other half continued to receive their usual care. Over the course of six months, patients were measured on a number of outcomes, including their ability to slow down thinking. At the end of the trial, the group who had received SlowMo showed reduced levels of paranoia and worry, no longer meeting the threshold for persecutory beliefs and reported significant improvements to their wellbeing and quality of life.
Sam, who lives with psychosis and took part in the study said, "The focus on fast and slow thinking really helped. The eye catching, helpful bubbles taught me that I can end the cycle of worry, and I do not need to think speedily and start panicking. I have got that now for life. Now all my worries are lessened by SlowMo and I have freedom and peace that I did not have before."
The trial was made possible with funding from the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council (Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation). The team now have funding to develop SlowMo so that it can be tested in routine NHS services.
Dr Amy Hardy, Digital Lead at SlowMo from King's IoPPN said "It can be difficult for people to make use of traditional therapies, and we are delighted that the trial showed the SlowMo design overcame common barriers to engagement and effectiveness. It had high rates of use and satisfaction, and worked equally well for a wide range of people. We are now working on developing SlowMo so that this accessible therapy will be widely available in the NHS".
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Reversing a genetic cause of poor stress responses in mice
2021-04-07
Everyone faces stress occasionally, whether in school, at work, or during a global pandemic. However, some cannot cope as well as others. In a few cases, the cause is genetic. In humans, mutations in the OPHN1 gene cause a rare X-linked disease that includes poor stress tolerance. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Linda Van Aelst seeks to understand factors that cause specific individuals to respond poorly to stress. She and her lab studied the mouse gene Ophn1, an analog of the human gene, which plays a critical role in developing brain cell connections, memories, and stress tolerance. When Ophn1 was removed in a specific part of the ...
Designing selective membranes for batteries using a drug discovery toolbox
2021-04-07
Membranes that allow certain molecules to quickly pass through while blocking others are key enablers for energy technologies from batteries and fuel cells to resource refinement and water purification. For example, membranes in a battery separating the two terminals help to prevent short circuits, while also allowing the transport of charged particles, or ions, needed to maintain the flow of electricity.
The most selective membranes - those with very specific criteria for what may pass through - suffer from low permeability for the working ion in the battery, which limits the battery's power and energy efficiency. ...
Mosel vineyards are preparing for climate change by sharing their soil with aromatic
2021-04-07
The landscape of sloping vineyards on the banks of the River Mosel in Germany is a characteristic symbol of a region, which cannot be understood without its wine: the Mosel wine region. Tourists from all over the world, especially from the neighbouring countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands visit the area in search of mountains and wine. However, the lack of new generations and the increase in temperatures and short heavy summer rainfall events caused by climate change endanger the production of wine.
In this sense, the European H2020 ...
Study demonstrates the need to monitor the bit area of event horses
2021-04-07
It was found that event horses that wear thin or thick bits in events had a greater risk of moderate or severe oral lesions compared to horses wearing medium-sized bits, while straight bits were associated with lesions in the bars of the horse's mouth.
"Our recommendation is to use a jointed bit of moderate thickness, that is 14 to 17 millimetres, if the size of the mouth is not known, paying particular attention to the handling of mares and both warmblood and coldblood event horses. They were seen to have a greater risk of mouth lesions compared to geldings and ponies," says doctoral student and veterinarian ...
The science of turning milk into cheese
2021-04-07
The global production of sheep's milk is one the rise, in the vast majority of cases used to produce cheese. However, a relatively large amount of milk is needed to produce it, so science is looking for ways to increase its yield; that is, to obtain more cheese using less milk.
Immersed in this task, a team from the Department of Animal Production at the University of Cordoba, led by Professor Ana Garzón, has collaborated with the University of Leon in the search for genetic parameters affecting the cheese production of milk from Churra sheep, one of the oldest and most rustic breeds on the Iberian Peninsula.
After analysing traits related to rennet and milk properties (pH, ...
Using AI to diagnose neurological diseases based on motor impairment
2021-04-07
The way we move says a lot about the state of our brain. While normal motor behaviour points to a healthy brain function, deviations can indicate impairments owing to neurological diseases. The observation and evaluation of movement patterns is therefore part of basic research, and is likewise one of the most important instruments for non-invasive diagnostics in clinical applications. Under the leadership of computer scientist Prof. Dr Björn Ommer and in collaboration with researchers from Switzerland, a new computer-based approach in this context has been developed at Heidelberg University. As studies inter alia with human test persons have shown, this approach enables the fully automatic ...
Digital twin can protect physical systems and train new users
2021-04-07
It is more complicated than copy and paste, but digital twins could be way of future manufacturing according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They developed a virtual environment based on human-robot interactions that can mirror the physical set up of a welder and their project. Called a digital twin, the prototype has implications for evolving manufacturing systems and training novice welders. They published their work in the IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (Volume 8, Issue 2, February 2021).
"This human-robot interaction working style helps to enhance the human users' operational productivity and ...
The structure and function of cortical brain cells modulated by attention
2021-04-07
To effectively perform any daily task, the human brain needs to process information from the outside world using various cognitive functions. This cognitive processing passes through a dense interconnected network of cells whose physiology is specialized. The interconnected cell network needs to perform this processing of information efficiently and interact cooperatively to provide us, in real time, with useful instructions for living.
Research published on 23 March in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America challenges recent scientific advances seeking to find out how cognitive control and sensory information relate to the cortical machinery ...
First images of cells exposed to COVID-19 vaccine reveal native-like Coronavirus spikes
2021-04-07
New research has for the first time compared images of the protein spikes that develop on the surface of cells exposed to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the protein spike of the SARS-CoV-19 coronavirus. The images show that the spikes are highly similar to those of the virus and support the modified adenovirus used in the vaccine as a leading platform to combat COVID-19.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, has a large number of spikes sticking out of its surface that it uses to attach to, and enter, cells in the human body. These spikes are coated in sugars, known as ...
'Patchwork' tumors prevalent across multiple cancer types
2021-04-07
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, as part of an international collaboration of scientists through the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium, have analysed the whole genomes of tumour samples from over 2,600 patients with different types of cancer. They identified a high prevalence of genetic diversity within individual tumours, which they further characterised. Their findings confirm that, even at late stages of development, tumour evolution is driven by changes that benefit the cancer.
When cancer cells divide, errors occur in the process of copying their DNA. These copying errors mean that different tumours can be made up of cells presenting a wide range of genetic diversity. This variation is a challenge for doctors as a treatment that ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Textbooks need to be rewritten: RNA, not DNA, is the main cause of acute sunburn
Brits still associate working-class accents with criminal behavior – study warns of bias in the criminal justice system
What do you think ‘guilty’ sounds like? Scientists find accent stereotypes influence beliefs about who commits crimes
University of Calgary nursing study envisions child trauma treatment through a Marvel and DC lens
Research on performance optimization of virtual data space across WAN
Researchers reveal novel mechanism for intrinsic regulation of sugar cravings
Immunological face of megakaryocytes
Calorie labelling leads to modest reductions in selection and consumption
The effectiveness of intradialytic parenteral nutrition with ENEFLUID???? infusion
New study reveals AI’s transformative impact on ICU care with smarter predictions and transparent insights
Snakes in potted olive trees ‘tip of the iceberg’ of ornamental plant trade hazards
Climate change driving ‘cost-of-living' squeeze in lizards
Stem Cell Reports seeks applications for its Early Career Scientist Editorial Board
‘Brand new physics’ for next generation spintronics
Pacific Islander teens assert identity through language
White House honors Tufts economist
Sharp drop in mortality after 41 weeks of pregnancy
Flexible electronics integrated with paper-thin structure for use in space
Immune complex shaves stem cells to protect against cancer
In the Northeast, 50% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease carrying bacteria
U of A Cancer Center clinical trial advances research in treatment of biliary tract cancers
Highlighting the dangers of restricting discussions of structural racism
NYU Tandon School of Engineering receives nearly $10 million from National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NASA scientists find new human-caused shifts in global water cycle
This tiny galaxy is answering some big questions
Large and small galaxies may grow in ways more similar than expected
The ins and outs of quinone carbon capture
Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester launches IFE-STAR ecosystem and workforce development initiatives
Most advanced artificial touch for brain-controlled bionic hand
Compounding drought and climate effects disrupt soil water dynamics in grasslands
[Press-News.org] Paranoia therapy app SlowMo helps people 'slow down' and manage their fearsA clinical trial has revealed that a new digitally supported therapy effectively supports people to manage paranoia to help them get on with life