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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Dr Thomas Ward
+44 (0)20 7836 5454
thomas.ward@kcl.ac.uk


More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - SlowMo trial: a digital therapy for people who fear harm from others
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SlowMo trial: a digital therapy for people who fear harm from others

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Adult

London Oxford Worthing West

Medical Conditions

Paranoia

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


People often experience distressing worries about other people intentionally causing harm, also known as paranoia. Paranoia is one of the most common symptoms of severe mental health problems and is associated with marked distress and disruption to people’s lives. Paranoia tends to be associated with certain thinking habits, called “fast thinking”. Everybody thinks fast and this can be helpful in some situations. At other times, fast thinking may contribute to feeling more stressed than we need to be. SlowMo is a therapy service which has been developed by service users, designers, researchers and clinicians to support people to notice their upsetting worries and fast thinking habits, and then provides tips to help them slow down for a moment to notice new information and safer thoughts. The aim of this study is to find out whether SlowMo reduces paranoia. The study will also investigate how SlowMo works (do changes in fast thinking reduce worries about others) and whether differences in beliefs, memory, and motivation influence this.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

01 May 2017 14 May 2019

Publications

2017 Protocol article in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29096681 protocol2021 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33825827/ (added 08/04/2021)2022 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35776506/ (added 04/07/2022)2021 Results article in https://doi.org/10.3310/eme08110 (added 18/03/2025)

Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first group take part in the SlowMo programme in addition to receiving usual care. This involves eight individual, face-to-face sessions with a trained therapist, which are supported by a website with interactive stories and games. The programme helps people to find out how fast thinking habits can contribute to upsetting thoughts, and try out tips to learn what helps them slow down their thinking and cope with worries. The first two sessions involve learning that worries about others and fast thinking are common, and developing an individualised understanding of the person’s thoughts and thinking habits. The remaining six sessions deal with learning and trying out tips to slow down thoughts. Those in the second group receive usual care only, as they would if they weren’t taking part in the study. At the start of the study and then after 12 and 24 weeks, participants complete a number of questionnaires to assess their paranoia and related symptoms as well as their mental wellbeing.


Adults who have had distressing paranoia for at least three months.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Lacks capacity to consent2. Profound visual and/ or hearing impairment3. Insufficient comprehension of English4. Inability to engage in the assessment procedure5. Engagement in psychological therapy for paranoia6. Primary diagnosis of substance abuse disorder, personality disorder, organic syndrome or learning disability


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
    Maudsley Hospital Denmark Hill
    London
    SE5 8AZ
  • Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
    4000 John Smith Drive Oxford Business Park
    Oxford
    OX4 2GX
  • Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
    Swandean Arundel Road
    Worthing West
    BN13 3EP

It is hoped that those receiving SlowMo will find it helpful. However, this cannot be guaranteed. Those who do not receive SlowMo will not be given a phone with the SlowMo app but will be reimbursed for their time. The information from all participants may help to support others with similar problems. If SlowMo is shown to work, then the plan would be for it to be more widely available in NHS services in the future. There are no anticipated risks involved with participating. However, as standard practice, the university sponsoring the research has insurance arrangements in place to provide for any harm arising from taking part if it were to occur. NHS indemnity (insurance) operates in respect of the therapy that is provided.

Dr Thomas Ward
+44 (0)20 7836 5454
thomas.ward@kcl.ac.uk



More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.


The study is sponsored by King's College London; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and funded by Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN32448671
Last updated 18 March 2025

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