Project details

Summary

What is the study about?

Depression and anxiety are common mental health problems that can reduce people’s quality of life. NHS Talking Therapies services support people who have depression and anxiety.

There is evidence that the way that NHS Talking Therapies services are currently  delivered makes it difficult for some people to access them. These include people from ethnic minority groups, disabled people, and older people. Research also suggests that patients want more control over how appointments are made.

Patient-led appointment scheduling is a way of arranging appointments that aims to give people more control over how they access talking therapies. This approach enables people to choose when they attend appointments and how many appointments they attend.

What are you trying to find out?

We would like to conduct a study that compares patient-led appointment scheduling to the usual methods of arranging appointments that are used by NHS Talking Therapies. Before we carry out this larger study, however, we want to make sure it is possible to conduct a study of this kind.

In this study, we want to:

• Make sure it is possible to get enough people to take part in the study and to follow their progress
• See if we can collect information from people about their mental health problems and their use of NHS services
• Find out how many people we would need for a larger study and hear from patients about whether they find this approach helpful
• We will use the results from this study to decide if we should run a larger study and how this should be conducted.

Who is it for?

To take part in the study you need to:

• Have been referred to NHS Talking Therapies for psychological interventions (also known as ‘talking therapy’)
• Have been assessed as suitable for one-to-one guided self-help interventions with support from a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (also known as ‘Step 2’)
• Be aged 18 years or over
• Have capacity to provide informed consent to take part. For this you need to be able to understand what taking part will mean, consider your decision, and tell the researcher

What does taking part involve?

Providing consent
If you are interested in being involved in the study, a member of the research team will contact you to discuss this and confirm that you are eligible to take part. This will give you the opportunity to find out more about what taking part would involve. If you decide to be involved in the study, we will ask you to either sign a consent form or a member of the research team will audio record you giving your consent to take part.

Completing questionnaires
We will ask you to complete several questionnaires that ask about topics such as the kinds of problems you are experiencing and how satisfied you are with the support you have received. We will also ask you for some personal information. 

Randomisation
You will be randomly assigned to one of two groups if you choose to take part in this study. The research team do not have any control over which group you are assigned to. We will contact you to let you know to which group you have been assigned.

The two groups are:

1. Usual Appointment Scheduling: You will continue to receive whatever support you would normally receive from NHS Talking Therapies if you are assigned to this group. This means that you will be offered  psychological therapy appointments in the usual way for your NHS Talking Therapies service.
   2. Patient-Led Appointment Scheduling: You will be offered psychological interventions using patient-led appointment scheduling if you are assigned to this group. This means that you will be able to choose how many sessions of therapy you book and how often you attend sessions. You will be able to book appointments for up to six months. We will provide you with more details of how to book your appointments if you are assigned to this group. 

You will have a 2 in 3 chance of being allocated to the patient-led appointment scheduling group. 

Follow-up
You will be asked to complete the same questionnaires that you completed at the start of the study six months later and then again nine months later. 

Interviews

We might also invite you take part in an interview. However, you can choose not to take part in an interview and still take part in the rest of the study.

If you decide to take part in an interview, we will ask you about the support you have received and your experience of taking part in the study. Interviews will last no more than 60 minutes. 

To acknowledge your time, you will be paid £20 on each of the three occasions you complete questionnaires during the study. Participants who also choose to take part in interviews will be paid an additional £25 for their time. Payments will be made by electronic bank transfer. We will ask for your bank details in order to process these payments. 

Why is it important? 

Many people report that taking part in research of this kind is a helpful experience. Others say that it is rewarding to take part in research that helps to improve mental health services for other people. You might find it helpful to talk about your difficulties or your experiences of working with NHS Talking Therapies.

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 us:

Email the research team