Publish date: 30 May 2024
West London NHS Trust has worked with Imperial College London and 14 young people to successfully complete a new study aimed at deterring young people from self-harming, using a phone app.
The Imaginator 2 study targeted children and young adults, aged 12 to 25, with a history of self-harm and was led by West London NHS Trust in partnership with Imperial College London.
The open single arm study involved a type of therapy called 'Functional Imagery Training' (FIT), which consisted of three face-to-face sessions, as well as five follow-up telephone calls.
The training used 'mental imagery' (visualising things in your mind) to help young people manage emotions and shift participants’ focus from self-harm to other behaviours that are more inline with their goals.
Researchers say imagining something makes you more likely to act on it and the purpose of the study was to find out whether imagining more positive behaviours through the use of a co-produced smartphone app and accompanying therapy, could help young people find alternatives to self-harm when experiencing emotional distress.
14 young people from diverse backgrounds, with lived experience of self harm co-designed the smartphone app, to help people practise using mental imagery techniques during and after the therapy sessions, to help them feel more motivated to achieve their goals.
The study began with the team recruiting 27 participants who were referred from either the Trust's Mental health integrated network teams (MINT) or Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
The FIT and telephone calls then took place over a three-month period, with results recorded at the start and end of the study.
The study found that the number of self-harm incidents recorded by participants over three months reduced on average from 24 to 7, almost 30 percent. In feedback interviews, young people said that they found the intervention helpful at changing emotions and behaviour. They also liked the app but would like it to be more personalised and better integrated with the FIT sessions. Therapists involved in the project said that Imaginator was filling a gap in available support for young people who self-harm.
The next step for the study will be a randomised control trial and if that's successful the team will look at rolling out the intervention to other Trusts.
A randomised control trial involves picking two groups to test the hypothesis, that the intervention is successful in reducing self-harm. In this case one group will be given the intervention whilst the other will not and the two results will be compared.
Martina Di Simplicio, the lead researcher on Imaginator 2 study, said: “We are very excited to share that our Imaginator 2 app was well received by young people in the study, including younger adolescents where this intervention had not been trialled before. Our results are promising, but now it is important to test the intervention in actual trial and we are looking forward to working with staff in CAMHS and MINT teams to achieve this.”
You can read the results of the study here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06311084?firstPost=2012-03-03_