The WELLFOCUS Manual can be found here
Translations: Cantonese
The WELLFOCUS study is informed by positive psychology:
Schrank B, Brownell T, Tylee A, Slade M (2014) Positive psychology: An approach to supporting recovery in mental illness, East Asian Archives of Psychiatry, 24, 95-103.
The understanding of wellbeing in mental health has changed over time:
Schrank B, Riches S, Coggins T, Tylee A, Slade M (2013) From objectivity to subjectivity: conceptualisation and measurement of well-being in mental health, Neuropsychiatry, 3, 525-534. Available here
We investigated determinants of hope:
Schrank B, Bird V, Rudnick A, Slade M (2012) Determinants, self-management strategies and interventions for hope in people with mental disorders: systematic search and narrative review, Social Science and Medicine, 74, 554-564. Available here
We developed a conceptual framework for understanding wellbeing in psychosis:
Schrank B, Bird V, Tylee A, Coggins T, Rashid T, Slade M (2013) Conceptualising and measuring the well-being of people with psychosis: systematic review and narrative synthesis, Social Science and Medicine, 92, 9-21. Available here
We then developed a framework for understanding how wellbeing changes:
Schrank B, Riches S, Bird V, Murray J, Tylee A, Slade M (2014) A conceptual framework for improving well-being in people with a diagnosis of psychosis, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 23, 377-387. Available here
We interviewed mental health staff to investigate how they viewed wellbeing for themselves and the people they worked with:
Schrank B, Brownell T, Riches S, Chevalier A, Jakaite Z, Larkin C, Lawrence V, Slade M (2015) Staff views on wellbeing for themselves and for service users, Journal of Mental Health, 24, 48-53. Available here
We modified an existing positive psychology intervention – Positive Psychotherapy – for use in psychosis:
Riches S, Schrank B, Rashid T, Slade M (2016) WELLFOCUS PPT: Modifying Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis, Psychotherapy, 53, 68-77. Available here
We tested this new intervention in a randomised controlled trial:
Schrank B, Riches S, Coggins T, Rashid T, Tylee A, Slade M (2014) WELLFOCUS PPT – modified Positive Psychotherapy to improve well-being in psychosis: study protocol for pilot randomised controlled trial, Trials, 15, 203. Available here
Therapist self-disclosure is involved in facilitating the intervention:
Riches S, Schrank B, Brownell T, Slade M, Lawrence V (2020) Therapist self-disclosure in positive psychotherapy for psychosis, Clinical Psychology Forum, 327, 14-21.
Forgiveness is a component of the intervention:
Riches S, Brownell T, Schrank B, Lawrence V, Rashid T, Slade M (2020) Understanding ‘forgiveness’ in the context of psychosis: A qualitative study of service user experience, Clinical Psychology Forum, 336, 41-48.
The trial results indicated the intervention had a positive impact on symptoms:
Schrank B, Brownell T, Jakaite Z, Larkin C, Pesola F, Riches S, Tylee A, Slade M (2016) Evaluation of a positive psychotherapy group intervention for people with psychosis: pilot randomized controlled trial, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 25, 235-246. Available here
The trial included a process evaluation to understand how the intervention was experienced:
Brownell T, Schrank B, Jakaite Z, Larkin C, Slade M (2015) Mental health service user experience of positive psychotherapy, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 71, 85-92. Available here
The final treatment manual has been published:
Slade M, Brownell T, Rashid T, Schrank B (2017) Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis, Hove: Routledge. Available here
Findings from this and other recovery and wellbeing studies have been synthesised:
Slade M, Oades L, Jarden A (eds) (2017) Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available here