Investigating the potential of psychedelic-enhanced cognitive interventions for young people with self-harm behaviour: mechanisms, acceptability....

调查迷幻增强认知干预对有自残行为的年轻人的潜力：机制、可接受性......

• 批准号: 2887355
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2887355
• 关键词: Investigating; potential; psychedelic; enhanced; cognitive

Approximately 20% of young people experience self-harm behaviour in their lives. Self-harm can occur across different mental health disorders and lead to negative outcomes and risk of suicide. Current available therapies are often long and costly and do not suit every individual, making it essential to research alternative treatments. Therapy combined with psychedelic drugs has recently been shown to be helpful in a variety of mental health disorders, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. This research project will explore a novel psychological intervention combined with a low dose of the psychedelic psilocybin to target self-harm behaviour in young people (aged 16-25).The project will use quantitative and qualitative methods in collaboration with the charity organisation Drug Science with the aim to:1) test the psychological processes by which combining psychedelics and therapy techniques may reduce self-harm behaviour (Study 1);2) explore the acceptability and societal barriers for the implementation of a psychedelic-enhanced psychological intervention (Study 2).Our previous research has shown that mental images of self-harm are common among individuals who self-harm and can increase the urge for this behaviour. Study 1 will examine if the combination of a sub-hallucinogenic dose ofpsilocybin with a cognitive-behavioural therapy technique called Imagery Re-Scripting can change some of the thinking styles that underly self-harm behaviour, such as experiencing vivid mental images.Imagery Re-Scripting guides an individual to replace mental imagery that drives self-harm with an alternative image that will instead discourage self-harm and promote alternative coping strategies. During Imagery Re-Scripting it is common for individuals to fear bringing negative mental images and emotions to mind. This is where psilocybin could play a game-changing role. Psychedelic substances can increase the ability to tolerate difficult emotions, make thinking styles more flexible and individuals more open to change. We hypothesise that psilocybin could facilitate confronting the emotions that arise during Imagery Re-Scripting, and make it easier to generate new helpful mental imagery.Study 1 will measure if Imagery Re-Scripting pluspsilocybin can reduce the mental images that drive self-harm and associated negative emotions in young people with recent self-harm behaviour, and if the effects are more pronounced and durable compared to Imagery Re-Scripting alone.Self-harm is a highly stigmatised behaviour, and this impacts on young people seeking and accessing support and clinicians delivering care. Recreational use of psychedelics is common among young people, but their attitudes toward potential therapeutic use are yet unknown.Study 2 will investigate what are the expectations, beliefs, fears and needs of a diverse group of young people with lived experience of self-harm and of clinicians around the use of psychedelics combined with a psychological therapy. Building on the expertise of Drug Science in exploring societal attitudes and disseminating evidence around drugs, we will conduct focus groups with young people and interview clinicians to understand what barriers are present and what adjustments would be needed to implement this novel intervention.Together, these studies will combine experimental psychology findings with stakeholder knowledge and pave the way for developing a highly innovative therapeutic in an area of growing mental health need for young people. This project aims to investigate the potential for developing novel psychological interventions combined with psychedelic drugs to target self-harm behaviour in young people. Around 20% of young people report having self-harmed in their life (Gillies et al., 2018) with rates increasing(McManus et al., 2019).

大约20%的年轻人在他们的生活中经历过自残行为。自我伤害可能发生在不同的精神健康障碍中，并导致负面结果和自杀风险。目前可用的治疗方法往往耗时长、费用高，而且并不适合每个人，因此研究替代治疗方法至关重要。结合迷幻药物的治疗最近被证明对多种精神健康障碍有帮助，包括抑郁症和创伤后应激障碍。本研究项目将探索一种新的心理干预方法，结合低剂量的迷幻药裸盖菇素，针对16-25岁年轻人的自残行为。该项目将与慈善组织药物科学合作，采用定量和定性方法，目的是：1)测试将迷幻药和治疗技术结合起来可能减少自残行为的心理过程（研究1）；2)探讨实施迷幻增强心理干预的可接受性和社会障碍（研究2）。我们之前的研究表明，自我伤害的心理图像在自我伤害的个体中很常见，并且会增加这种行为的冲动。研究1将检验是否将致幻剂量的裸盖菇素与一种称为“意象重新脚本”的认知行为治疗技术相结合，可以改变一些潜在的自残行为的思维方式，比如体验生动的心理图像。意象重新脚本引导个体用另一种意象取代导致自我伤害的心理意象，这种意象将阻止自我伤害并促进替代应对策略。在意象重新编写过程中，个人害怕将消极的心理意象和情绪带入脑海是很常见的。这就是裸盖菇素可以发挥改变游戏规则作用的地方。致幻剂可以增强对困难情绪的容忍能力，使思维方式更灵活，个人更容易改变。我们假设裸盖菇素可以促进面对在图像重新编写过程中产生的情绪，并使其更容易产生新的有益的心理图像。研究1将测量图像重新脚本和裸盖菇素是否可以减少导致自残行为的年轻人的心理图像和相关的负面情绪，以及与单独的图像重新脚本相比，效果是否更加明显和持久。自残是一种高度污名化的行为，这对寻求和获得支持的年轻人以及临床医生提供护理产生了影响。迷幻药的娱乐性使用在年轻人中很常见，但他们对潜在治疗用途的态度尚不清楚。研究2将调查一群有过自残经历的年轻人的期望、信念、恐惧和需求，以及临床医生对迷幻药与心理治疗结合使用的看法。基于药物科学在探索社会态度和传播药物证据方面的专业知识，我们将与年轻人进行焦点小组讨论，并采访临床医生，以了解目前存在的障碍以及实施这种新型干预措施需要进行哪些调整。总之，这些研究将把实验心理学的发现与利益相关者的知识结合起来，为在年轻人日益增长的心理健康需求领域开发一种高度创新的治疗方法铺平道路。该项目旨在研究开发新型心理干预与迷幻药物结合的潜力，以针对年轻人的自残行为。大约20%的年轻人报告说在他们的生活中有过自残行为（Gillies等人，2018），而且自残率还在上升（McManus等人，2019）。