Psychosis - schizophrenia,Schizophrenia
Sleeping Better Study
Calling for participants until
31 Dec 2026
Participant type
Age 18+
Rewards
£15 per completed assessment, this could total £45
Overview
The Sleeping Better study is for people who are having difficulties sleeping. This includes problems getting to sleep or staying asleep, sleeping for too long, or sleeping at the wrong times of day.
The purpose is to find out whether 'Sleeping Better', an eight session talking therapy, can improve a persons sleep.
Summary
To find out whether Sleeping Better does work, half of the participants will have the sleep therapy and half will not. We then see how many people have got on with and without the therapy. It is decided completely at random who does and does not get the therapy. Everyone has a 50% chance (one in two) of getting the sleep therapy.
Everyone will meet a research assistant online at the beginning and then after 12 and 24 weeks. This is to carry out assessments to see how people get on. The assessments will be conducted online via Teams and telephone calls.
By the end of the study, you may be invited to take part in an additional meeting. This will be an interview with a member of the Sleeping Better team to talk about your experiences of the study.
- Aged 18 years of above for people at ultra-high risk of psychosis; aged 18 or above for people with diagnosis of (non-affective) psychosis
- Have a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum psychosis (i.e. non-affective psychosis) or meet diagnostic criteria for ultra-high risk of psychosis on the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk-Mental-States (CAARMS)
- Experiencing current sleep problems and would like help to improve sleep
- People at ultra-high risk of psychosis recruited by the centralised remote delivery site will need to agree to take part in therapy and assessments remotely
- Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the trial
- Likely primary diagnosis of sleep apnoea
- A primary diagnosis of another mental health condition (e.g. substance use disorder) that would be the first clinical priority to treat
- In forensic settings or Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
- Unable to understand or speak English
- Current receipt of significant other psychological therapy or significant change in medication or in another intervention study
- A participant may also not enter the trial if there is another factor (for example, current suicidal plans that need to be the focus of intervention), which, in the judgement of the investigator, would prelude the participant from providing informed consent/assent or from safely engaging with the trial procedures.
Meet the researcher
Sam HeathcoteSam Heathcote is a Senior Research Practitioner at Devon Partnership NHS Trust and a qualified social worker with over 25 years' experience in adult mental health. She has worked across diverse settings, including MIND, Assertive Outreach, specialist personality disorder services and as an approved mental health professional. Sam spent a decade in a community mental health team and brings strong clinical expertise and risk management skills to her role. Within the Research and Development team, she recruits study participants and supports data collection, contributing her experience and insight to help deliver meaningful, high-quality mental health research.
Collaborators
