Ask to take part

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:

Prof Louise Dalton
louise.dalton@psych.ox.ac.uk


Miss Amalie Schumann
amalie.schumann@psych.ox.ac.uk


Study Location:

Find another location


Questions to ask
Skip to Main Content
English | Cymraeg
Be Part of Research - Trial Details - A feasibility and acceptability study of the SIBS group programme for siblings and parents of children with mental illness
Back

A feasibility and acceptability study of the SIBS group programme for siblings and parents of children with mental illness

Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Child

Bracknell Oxford

Medical Conditions

Children (referred to as "siblings") aged 8 to 17 years, along with at least one of their parents, who have a child in the family receiving care from CAMHS for an eating disorder.

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.


Siblings of children with eating disorders are at increased risk of mental health problems and lack access to support. Most research on interventions aiming to prevent adverse mental health outcomes among siblings has focused on siblings of individuals with physical illness, intellectual disabilities, and/or neurodevelopmental disorders, rather than siblings of individuals with mental illness such as eating disorders. To address this gap, this study aims to evaluate an existing sibling intervention, SIBS, originally developed for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders, within a mental health context with siblings and parents of children and young people with eating disorders. SIBS is a manualised group-based programme. It is organised around three core themes: siblings’ diagnosis knowledge, siblings’ emotional experiences, and family communication.

SIBS was developed and studied in Norway. The intervention aims to enhance resilience through improved family communication and by increasing siblings’ diagnosis knowledge. In the Norwegian context, it has demonstrated improvements in sibling mental health and parent-child communication. Applying interventions with established evidence to new settings can be more efficient than creating new interventions for each setting. While some interventions are easily transferable, their effectiveness and success heavily rely on the context.

Following the ADAPT framework, the SIBS intervention was adapted by the research team through the involvement of stakeholders, to a UK mental health service setting. The next step is to undertake a pilot study of the SIBS intervention in UK CAMHS to test its acceptability and feasibility within this context. The primary aims are to assess the feasibility and acceptability of conducting the SIBS intervention in CAMHS.

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:

20 Oct 2025 01 Jul 2026

The study involves three main assessment points: baseline, immediately after, and 12 weeks following participation in SIBS.
1. Baseline (pre-intervention)
Parent questionnaires assess the siblings’ mental health and quality of life, family communication, demographic information, and parental mental health.
Sibling questionnaires assess the siblings’ mental health, quality of life, and family communication. Siblings will also participate in a brief interview (~10 minutes) assessing their knowledge of their brother’s or sister’s illness.

2. The SIBS intervention
After the assessments are completed, families will be invited to participate in SIBS, which consists of two meetings one week apart (each lasting approximately 2.5 hours).
Each participating family includes one sibling and at least one parent; the same parent attends both sessions. Siblings and parents participate in parallel group sessions, each facilitated by two trained HCPs (“group leaders”).
Sibling group: Includes 3–7 participants aged within four years of each other. The themes of the groups are siblings’ understanding of the illness, and emotions and experiences.
Parent group: Focuses on siblings’ experiences and understanding of mental illness and teaches communication skills.
The intervention also incorporates parent–child conversations to allow parents to practise learned communication techniques.
To measure fidelity and explore content in discussions and conversations, all sessions will be audio- and video-recorded.

Post-intervention assessments
Immediately after the SIBS intervention:
Parents and siblings will complete follow-up questionnaires similar to baseline measures, in addition to a questionnaire measuring perceived benefit and their perspectives on cultural applicability. Siblings will repeat the interview assessing illness understanding.
HCPs will complete a questionnaire measuring their views on the intervention’s acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility.
1-2 weeks after the SIBS intervention, HCPs running the groups, and siblings and parents who took part, will be invited to individual qualitative interviews exploring their experiences of the SIBS intervention, and barriers and facilitators to sustained delivery.
12 weeks post-intervention:
Parents and siblings will complete the questionnaires administered post-intervention (except the perceived benefit questionnaire), and siblings will repeat the interview about illness understanding.


Sibling (aged 8 to 17 years of age) and parent participants at four SIBS groups across CAMHS sites; the study will train HCPs to deliver the SIBS intervention and participate in interviews and answer questionnaires.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


Sibling participants:Currently receiving care in CAMHS for their own diagnosis of a mental illness


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

  • Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust Headquarters
    Skimped Hill Lane
    Bracknell
    RG12 1LH
  • Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
    Research and Development Department Warneford Hospital Headington, Oxford
    Oxford
    OX3 7JX

Participation involves completing questionnaires and interviews that may evoke emotional responses. All participation is voluntary, and participants may decline to answer any questions. Participants receive information about support services and study team contact details in case of distress.
While participation may provide families with support and enhanced communication skills, direct benefits cannot be guaranteed.

Miss Amalie Schumann
amalie.schumann@psych.ox.ac.uk


Prof Louise Dalton
louise.dalton@psych.ox.ac.uk



The study is sponsored by University of Oxford and funded by John Fell Fund, University of Oxford.



We'd like your feedback

Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.


Is this study information helpful?

What will you do next?
Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN78415958
Last updated 14 October 2025

This page is to help you find out about a research study and if you may be able to take part

You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.   

Back to the top