1. SlowMo therapy, a new digital blended therapy for fear of harm from others: An account of therapy personalisation within a targeted intervention.
- Author
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Ward, Thomas, Hardy, Amy, Holm, Rebecca, Collett, Nicola, Rus‐Calafell, Mar, Sacadura, Catarina, McGourty, Alison, Vella, Claire, East, Anna, Rea, Michaela, Harding, Helen, Emsley, Richard, Greenwood, Kathryn, Freeman, Daniel, Fowler, David, Kuipers, Elizabeth, Bebbington, Paul, and Garety, Philippa
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UNIVERSAL design , *MINDFULNESS , *THOUGHT & thinking , *THERAPEUTICS , *COMPUTERS in medicine , *PSYCHOSES , *USER interfaces , *APPLICATION software , *SELF-perception , *RESEARCH methodology , *DIGITAL technology , *FEAR , *PATIENT-centered care , *MEDICAL care , *HARM reduction , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *WORRY , *ANXIETY , *PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation , *COGNITIVE therapy , *TELEMEDICINE , *PARANOIA , *WORLD Wide Web , *PSYCHOLOGICAL stress - Abstract
Objectives: SlowMo therapy is a pioneering blended digital therapy for paranoia, augmenting face‐to‐face therapy with an interactive 'webapp' and a mobile app. A recent large‐scale trial demonstrated small–moderate effects on paranoia alongside improvements in self‐esteem, worry, well‐being and quality of life. This paper provides a comprehensive account of therapy personalisation within this targeted approach. Design: Case examples illustrate therapy delivery and descriptive data are presented on personalised thought content. Method: Thought content was extracted from the webapp (n = 140 participants) and coded using newly devised categories: Worries: (1) Persecutory, (2) Negative social evaluation, (3) Negative self‐concept, (4) Loss/life stresses, (5) Sensory‐perceptual experiences and (6) Health anxieties. Safer thoughts: (1) Safer alternative (specific alternatives to worries), (2) Second‐wave (generalised) coping, (3) Positive self‐concept, (4) Positive activities and (5) Third‐wave (mindfulness‐based) coping. Data on therapy fidelity are also presented. Results: Worries: 'Persecutory' (92.9% of people) and 'Negative social evaluation' (74.3%) were most common. 'General worries/ life stresses' (31.4%) and 'Negative self‐concept' (22.1%) were present in a significant minority; 'Health anxieties' (10%) and 'Sensory‐perceptual' (10%) were less common. Safer thoughts: 'Second‐wave (general) coping' (85%), 'Safer alternatives' (76.4%), 'Positive self‐concept' (65.7%) and 'Positive activities' (64.3%) were common with 'Third‐wave' (mindfulness) coping observed for 30%. Fidelity: Only three therapy withdrawals were therapy related. Session adherence was excellent (mean = 15.2/16; SD = 0.9). Behavioural work was conducted with 71% of people (119/168). Conclusion: SlowMo therapy delivers a targeted yet personalised approach. Potential mechanisms of action extend beyond reasoning. Implications for cognitive models of paranoia and causal interventionist approaches are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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