1. Critical Time Intervention for Severely Mentally Ill Released
Prisoners: A Randomised Control Trial (CrISP)
What is the project about?
In recent years teams providing mental health care in prison have made great
progress in identifying and treating mental illness. However, the transition from
prison to the community results in patients dropping out of treatment or losing
contact with services.
A programme known as Critical Time Intervention has been identified as potentially
useful in improving this transition so that people with mental health problems can be
better supported on leaving prison. The Critical Time Intervention programme works
with prisoners before release to identify potential problems that may arise and then
continues to work with them in the community to provide support and ensure the
person gets the help they need.
A team of researchers at Kings College London and Manchester University are
testing the effectiveness of this programme by undertaking a randomised controlled
trial. This compares the outcomes for people who receive this programme with
people who do not receive this support.
Why we need service user input
The research team comprises people with experience of providing mental health
care, prison services, and conducting research in these areas. We are keen to add
service user perspectives as we believe they could be important in understanding
what people may need at this time, how best to conduct the research, and where
things could be improved. It is important that this person has experience of using
mental health services, and ideally has some understanding of the transition
between prison and community mental health services.
What will I be required to do?
The role will involve attending up to 3 meetings a year to advise and comment on
elements of the research and progress of the project as a whole. You may be
asked to do some preparation beforehand such as reading or providing comments
on documents. Support will be provided and a reimbursement of £50 per meeting.
Interested or want to know more?
For any further information on the project or the role with the steering group, please
contact Gareth Hopkin at Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.
Email: gareth.hopkin@kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 0207 848 5778