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Creating a Digital Psychoeducation Programme for bipolar disorder in the COVID-19 pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

R. Gadelrab*
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, Centre For Affective Disorders, London, United Kingdom
S. Simblett
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, Psychology, London, United Kingdom
J. Hook
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
S. Rickwood
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
J. Martinez
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
M. Johnstone
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
C. Flower
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
S. Bourne
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
A. Young
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, Centre For Affective Disorders, London, United Kingdom
K. Macritchie
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Affective Disorder Service, london, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic profoundly affected delivery and accessibility of mental health care services at a time when most needed. The OPTIMA Mood Disorder Service, a specialist bipolar disorder service, adapted group psychoeducation programme for delivery on-line.

Objectives

We report the feasibility of creating a digital psychoeducation programme.

Methods

The OPTIMA ten session group psychoeducation programme was converted into a ‘Digital’ intervention using video-conferencing. Sessions offered a range of key topics, derived from the initial Barcelona Group Psychoeducation Programme. At the time of writing, OPTIMA had fully completed two 10 session digital courses.

Results

A total of 12 people (6 in each group) consented to be part of a service evaluation of the digital groups. Just over half of the participants were women (7/12; 58.3%) and one identified as being non-binary (8.3); remaining participants were men. Age of participants ranged from 25 years to 65 years (Mean=42.3; SD=13.1). Data showed a high level of engagement (77%) All participants reported some improvement with a mean Bipolar Self-Efficacy scale (BPSES) post-group score of 105.6 (SD=14.8). At group level, this change was not statistically significant (F (1, 15) = 0.71, p=0.41). At an individual level, two out of five showed a reliable change index >1.96.

Conclusions

Delivering a ‘digital’ group psychoeducation programme was possible due to careful planning and programme development. There was good uptake from service users suggesting it is a feasible approach with preliminary evidence of clinical benefit.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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