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Around 28% of people worldwide will experience a sleep disorder at some point in their lives. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an optimal treatment of choice for sleep disorders, but access to treatment is limited by the low number of expert CBT practitioners, resulting in long waiting times for CBT. University of Glasgow Sleep Centre research led to the development of an online CBT course (`Sleepio'), which has been sold online since 2010, and since September 2012 has been sold online by The Boots Company Plc. (Boots). Sleepio has been included in the NHS Health Apps Library and selected for integration with two of the best-selling fitness monitors. University of Glasgow expertise also underpinned `Sleep Matters', a year-long campaign by the UK Mental Health Foundation (MHF) which generated 300 media articles with a combined circulation of 145 million, raising awareness of and widening access to treatment for sleep disorders.
Recent NHS policy has prioritised improving access to cost-effective psychological interventions for people with mental health problems. Research by Lucock at the Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CHSCR) has contributed to meeting this challenge by developing and evaluating self-help interventions which can be provided by a range of NHS staff without professional psychotherapy or mental health training. This work has resulted in the creation of the Self-Help Access in Routine Primary Care (SHARP) initiative, a programme that gives practitioners materials and training which enable them to deliver brief self-help interventions supported by a dedicated website and a range of leaflets that recognise service users' need for easy-to-understand material. Feedback from practitioners on the website and training has been positive. There is evidence of positive impacts of the training on practitioners' confidence in their ability to deal with anxiety and depression, and in greater use of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approaches with patients. Evidence from testimony demonstrates impact on practice. Research also provides evidence of benefit to patients in terms of reduction of anxiety and depression and goal attainment. The research has also influenced national guidance on best practice.
Depression is a major public health problem producing substantial decrements in health and well-being, with 15% lifetime prevalence, affecting 350 million people worldwide. The Mood Disorders Centre (MDC) has improved treatment for depression by (i) understanding psychological mechanisms underpinning depression; (ii) translating this into innovative treatments and prevention interventions, evaluated in clinical trials; (iii) improving dissemination, delivery, and access to treatments. This research has improved patient care and quality of life, influenced national policy (NICE Depression Guidelines), informed national service and training provision (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies IAPT programme, with 680,000 people completing treatment 2008-2011) and achieved international impact on clinical practice.
Bulimic eating disorders are disabling conditions affecting approximately 5% of the population. Effective specialist treatment exists in the form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but only a minority of patients access this. Researchers at King's College London developed book-, CD-ROM-and web-based CBT self-care interventions for bulimic disorders that provide early effective treatment with outcomes comparable to costly specialist CBT. Locally, at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Eating Disorders Service, this has significantly reduced waiting lists. The research has had national and international impact with UK, German and US guidelines endorsing guided self-care as a first treatment step for bulimic disorders and the KCL manual and website are internationally recommended.
There is strong evidence that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) plays a major role not only in preventing the recurrence of depression, but also in enhancing well-being more broadly. Much of this research was carried out at Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, with a focus on non-academic impact from the outset. Between 2008-2013, the Centre has delivered MBCT courses to over 1500 members of the public. We have also trained over 1300 professionals to deliver MBCT within the NHS and other contexts, leading to several successful spin-off businesses. Finally, Centre researchers lead in the creation of UK good practice standards.
Dr Lina Gega's research has been instrumental to the development and take-up of computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) and other technology-mediated interventions for common mental health problems in the UK and internationally. Gega's adjunct on-line methods form a key foundation for the training of professionals to support cCBT, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines now include cCBT for first line intervention for common mental health problems. These developments have resulted in a greater patient reach for cCBT internationally, with resultant decreases in waiting time for patients (with associated economic benefit) and improved outcomes.
Psychosis affects 3-4% of the UK population and is ranked as the third most disabling condition worldwide by the World Health Organisation. Research at the University of Glasgow has changed treatment and services for patients with psychosis by identifying therapies that improve emotional recovery and prevent psychosis relapse and by contributing to the development of early intervention services for individuals with a first episode of psychosis. This work has supported the inclusion of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for psychosis in national clinical guidelines and the implementation of these guidelines via an expanded UK Department of Health programme. University of Glasgow research has also driven the development and expansion of local early intervention services for psychosis, the success of which has directly informed the current Scottish Government Mental Health Strategy.
Work by Fonagy and Roth at UCL to establish a firm evidence base for psychological therapies has had a profound impact on the delivery of services across the UK. This evidence was used to establish the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. Building on the original research, Roth and Pilling developed a series of competence frameworks which have been used to train thousands of additional therapists to deliver the programme. More than a million patients have now benefitted from the programme, which, along with the clear impacts on individual wellbeing, has also been recognised as having significant economic gains, in terms of NHS savings, reduced welfare spending, and increased return to the workforce.
Depression is a major public health problem, producing substantial deterioration in health and well- being and costing the UK £billions annually. A programme of research at Exeter, led by Professor Richards, (trials and Phase IV implementation studies) has changed national policy on the treatment of depression (NICE guidelines). It has also underpinned the UK's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which has been widely implemented, leading to new treatment for over 1 million people, with a recovery rate in excess of 45%, and over 45,000 people coming off sick pay and benefits. The research has also achieved International impact.
Research at Sheffield has changed UK and international clinical guidelines for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and has ensured that more appropriate treatments target people who have been traumatised. The Sheffield studies revealed the limitations and ineffectiveness of a commonly adopted clinical approach reliant on psycho-education and self-help. These studies concluded, on the basis of three randomised control trials of self-help provision, that despite the provision of information being valued by patients, it had no direct effect on relieving symptoms or enhancing quality of life or functioning. These research findings have directly contributed to good practice guidance for public health, disaster management and relief, and responding to terrorism and conflict.