ExPRESS:2 (Experiences of Psychosis Relapse: Early Subjective Signs) Longitudinal Feasibility Study

Detailed Summary

About 1 in 100 people will experience an episode of psychosis. Some people will only experience one 'psychotic episode' and about a quarter of people make a full recovery. Others will have recurring periods of problems ('relapses'), perhaps at times of particular stress. As people often find psychosis distressing, this study looks at ways to help them stay well in the future. There is growing evidence that 'early signs' interventions can prevent relapses of psychosis. Early signs are things that might happen when people start to become unwell. For example some people start to sleep badly when they are becoming unwell. Most people with psychosis can identify early signs emerging in the weeks before relapse. In early signs interventions, service users are taught to recognise early signs that their mental health may be deteriorating so that they can take action to avoid becoming unwell. Although early signs interventions show promise, the investigators suggest that they can be improved by more accurate assessment of relapse risk. This might be achieved by monitoring 'basic symptoms' in addition to conventional early signs of relapse. Basic symptoms are subtle, subclinical disturbances in one's experience of oneself and the world. Typical basic symptoms include: changes in perceptions, such as increased vividness of colour vision; impaired tolerance to certain stressors; difficulty finding or understanding common words. In this study the investigators want to design and test a mobile phone app to help monitor basic symptoms. They hope that the app might help service users to stay well in the future. During the study the investigators will ask participants to use the app once a week for 6 months. At the end of the study they will interview them about their experiences of using the phone app and participating in the study.

Study Details

Timeline