Project details

Summary

What is the study about?

People who experience psychosis can face negative attitudes from others about psychosis; this is called stigma. People who experience psychosis also say that they can be treated unfairly; this is called discrimination. Stigma and discrimination can make some people think or feel badly about themselves, this is called ‘internalised stigma.’ It can be difficult knowing whether to talk to others about a mental health difficulty because of stigma.  

The Let’s Talk programme was designed to help people who are concerned about talking about their mental health difficulties because of stigma. Let’s Talk aims to help people think about the upsides and downsides of talking about mental health in everyday life, to learn ways to talk about mental health, and support you to make the best decisions for yourself. It is carried out by peer support workers, who meet with study participants for confidential discussions. A peer support worker is a mental health worker who has also experienced similar mental health difficulties and understands the negative effects of stigma personally. 

What are you trying to find out?

We ran a small trial of Let’s Talk and found that it is practical and safe to do. Now we are running a larger research trial at four locations in the UK to test if this approach helps people with their personal recovery. This means testing whether having the Let’s Talk programme leads to improved mental health wellbeing afterwards. We will also try to understand which parts of the programme are most helpful. 

Who is it for?

We would like to speak to people who :

• have experience of psychosis 
• feel that mental health stigma has affected how they feel about themselves and how they feel about talking to others about their mental health

What does taking part involve?

Consent and first assessment: If you would like to take part, you will be asked to complete a Consent Form saying that you agree to be a part of this research study. A researcher working for the Let’s Talk 2 trial will then check with you whether you are eligible for the study. This will take around 30 minutes and involve discussing mental health stigma and its impact on your wellbeing, and you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that has just one question. If you are eligible, you will be asked to complete eight questionnaires with the researcher about your wellbeing. 

Study allocation: For each person who is eligible for the study, a computer will then randomly assign them to receive either standard care or standard care plus the Let’s Talk programme. This will be decided randomly 
by a computer, and everyone has a 50% chance of being assigned to either group. 

Follow-up appointments with a researcher: All the people taking part in the study will be asked to meet with a researcher for a follow-up assessment after 4 months and 12 months. These meetings will involve a conversation with the researcher about mental health stigma and its impact on wellbeing, plus nine 
questionnaires. These are the same questionnaires as at the first appointment. 

The appointments with the researcher and the peer support worker will normally be done in-person and they will do their best to meet you at a location of your choice, which may be your home. If necessary, meetings with Let’s Talk staff can be done over the telephone or video-call. You do not have to answer all these questions if they feel difficult or upsetting, and you can take breaks if you like. No-one will be upset with you if you decide you do not want to complete a questionnaire. 

You can find out more information about taking part in this study by downloading the key documents at the top of this page. 

Why is it important? 

For those assigned to receive the Let’s Talk programme we hope it will be helpful. It is possible, but not guaranteed, that Let’s Talk may be helpful in several ways:

• It is an opportunity to talk to someone who has experienced similar mental health difficulties and can offer understanding and support
• It is possible that they will help reduce the impact that stigma has on your life, by sharing information and ways to manage any distress caused by stigma
• Let’s Talk can help by supporting you to think through the upsides and downsides of talking about mental health with others
• It can help to learn ways to talk about yourself that have worked for others to make the best decisions for yourself about this

We also hope that for everyone who takes part, it will be helpful to talk about mental health stigma with a researcher who is trained and supportive.

There are lots of reasons why people choose to take part in research, but we understand that some people have a preference to be allocated to receive the intervention (i.e., the Let’s Talk programme) and that not being allocated to the intervention can be disappointing. If you are not allocated to receive the Let’s Talk programme, we will still offer to send you useful information from the Let’s Talk workbook after your final research assessment.

How can I find out more?

You can find out more information about taking part in this study by downloading the key documents at the top of this page.

If you are interested in taking part in this study, or have questions for the research team, click the button below to email the research team:

Email the research team