Research Projects

The Spectrum Centre are assessing the usefulness of a web-based parenting programme that is tailored to meet the needs of parents with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. People with Bipolar Disorder may find that their changes in mood make the delivery of consistent parenting more difficult than for parents without mental health problems.

The Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention (IBPI) developed by the Spectrum Centre combines a parenting programme (Triple P) that consists of positive parenting techniques with strategies that are helpful for managing bipolar. For more information on the IBPI project, see the IBPI page or visit www.ibpi.co.uk

What is ERP Online?

ERP Online is an interactive website which provides access to the Enhanced Relapse Prevention approach for bipolar disorder.

Why are we doing this?

Many people continue to experience relapses and our approach is effective in reducing relapse. We want to increase access to it.

For more information on the ERP Online project, see the ERP Online page or visit www.erponline.co.uk

This project is designed to assess the acceptability of a 6 month family fucused psychological intervention, providing up to 18 sessions with participants. It will provide a detailed exploration of the relationship between the intervention, the characteristics of the participant (such as thoughts, mood and activity) and outcomes as defined by both the service user and clinician.

You can find out more information on the Family Focused Support project page.

This is a study exploring the impact of a recovery-focused intervention on the mood and other factors of interest for people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Considerable evidence points to the beneficial impact of psychological interventions on outcomes such as symptoms and relapse. However, such outcomes may not accurately capture what the service user considers to be meaningful change. Little is known about the interaction between service user definitions of recovery, participant characteristics and therapeutic components. An improved understanding of these factors represents an important step in developing more suitable and effective psychological interventions.

You can find out more information on the Recovery Focused Therapy project page.

Academics at the Spectrum Centre led by Professor Steven Jones have been awarded a prestigious £2m programme grant by National Institute for Health Research. The PARADES programme will run over 5 years in collaboration with Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Nottingham and Manchester Universities.

This is the first major award for research into bipolar disorder funded by NIHR and will focus on the development, evaluation and implementation of psychological approaches to bipolar disorder and comorbid problems.

There are five studies contained within it as follows:

Psychoeducation

A definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing group psychoeducation with group peer support, both delivered by a service user and 2 clinicians.

Anxiety

A treatment development study concerning anxiety in bipolar disorder. This will have three phases. Phase 1 is a qualitative study of people’s experience of anxiety in bipolar disorder. Phase 2 is a consultative phase in which individuals with bipolar experience indicate ways in which anxiety intervention protocols might be made relevant to individuals with bipolar. The final phase is a pilot RCT testing the feasibility and acceptability of the chosen approach and also providing provisional information on effectiveness all of which will inform a future definitive trial.

Substance Use

This study will follow the same model as the Anxiety stream (see above) but for people with bipolar and comorbid substance/alcohol problems and will be informed by pilot work already conducted by our team.

Suicidality and Self Harm

This study will look at factors associated with suicide and severe self harm in bipolar disorder using both the Manchester University National Confidential database and associated data sources in the first instance.

Advance Directive Evaluation

The final element is designed to evaluate the extent to which the mental capacity act is impacting on the treatment experiences of individuals with bipolar disorder. This will include surveys of court records and Responsible Medical Officers to indicate application of advance directives as well as interviews with individuals with a bipolar diagnosis to study whether advance directives are used in relation to admission and whether this is more or less likely in individuals in receipt of the psychoeducation intervention.

The Recovery project involves the development and evaluation of a recovery-focussed psychosocial intervention for individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. For more information on the Recovery project, visit the Recovery page.

This project is funded by the National Institute of Health Research, and is developing and evaluating a supported self-management intervention for caregivers of individuals who have experienced psychosis. More information on the REACT project can be found here.

Funded by the Violet and Milo Cripps Charitable Trust in memory of Lord Milo Douglas who had bipolar disorder and died by suicide in 2009, aged 34, this study aims to enhance our understanding of the inter- and intrapersonal barriers and facilitators to involving relatives in mental healthcare, and the impact that communication in mental healthcare settings may have on the course of BD and the family's overall wellbeing. For more information, click here

This project is an analogue study exploring the associations between personality style and academic achievement in undergraduate students, and what factors are specifically related to positive and negative outcomes for these students.

For more information, see Personality and the Student Experience.

This qualitative project is an investigation of factors helpful to functioning in bipolar disorder.

For more information, please click here.

Faye Banks, Heather Robinson, and Kay Hampshire are jointly running the EMOTE study, which aims to explore the relationships between mood changes and anxiety, mood management and circadian rhythms.

For more information, please click here.

This project is being supervised by Steve Jones and Fiona Lobban.

Faye Banks is investigating associations between circadian instability, appraisals, and mood, among individuals with bipolar disorder and fybromyalgia, as well as non-clinical populations.

For more information, please click here.

This project is being supervised by Steve Jones and Fiona Lobban.

Heather Robinson is investigating how individuals with and without a diagnosis of bipolar disorder detect and respond to changes in mood. Mood management: An eight stage process will examine whether there are differences between individuals with and without a diagnosis of bipolar disorder with regard to how they manage their moods at different stages of self-regulation, which could have important implications for psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorder.

For more information, please click here.

This project is being supervised by Fiona Lobban and Steve Jones.

Anxiety is common among individuals with bipolar disorder, and is associated with poorer outcomes. Kay Hampshire is investigating the experience of anxiety among individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and the relationship between the two.

For more information, please click here.

This project is being supervised by Steve Jones and Fiona Lobban.

Laura Wainwright is investigating self management use of relatives of people experiencing early psychosis. The aim is to investigate their experiences and how they may be supported to use resources to facilitate their experiences.

For more information, please click here.

This project is being supervised by Fiona Lobban and Steve Jones.

This project is funded by Merseycare NHS Trust, and involves the development and evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based psychosocial intervention for individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. For more information, see our Living With Bipolar webpage.