iMAPS-2 logo FINAL
iMAPS-2 logo FINAL - A clinical trial of a pioneering therapy which helps people with psychosis and schizophrenia to control frightening and intrusive images is launching in Manchester. The feasibility study will recruit 45 patients in Greater Manchester over 12 months, and will be one of the largest trials so far to use an imagery focused therapy approach in psychosis. The research team hope the therapy will help the up to 74% of people with psychosis who see intrusive pictures in their mind, by helping them understand and change the images, and replacing them with more positive ones. These "pictures in the mind's eye" are often associated with distressing voices other people cannot hear and beliefs that others mean to harm them. The talking therapy, to be given over 12 weekly sessions, uses purely imagined images in addition to images from a person's past (or things they are worried about happening in the future). Antipsychotic medication can treat some symptoms of psychosis, however, around 74% of patients stop using it or change medications within 18 months because of debilitating side effects, or not reporting a benefit, underlining the desperate need for effective therapies. An initial test of the therapy on 10 patients over the last two years showed the approach known as iMAPS, was acceptable, with some patients reporting positive benefits in reducing psychotic experiences and symptoms.
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