SlowMo Therapy

What is SlowMo therapy for?

People often experience worries about other people intentionally causing harm, also known as paranoia. Paranoia is one of the most common symptoms of severe mental health problems and is associated with marked distress and disruption to people’s lives. Paranoia tends to be associated with certain thinking habits, called fast thinking. We all think fast and this can be helpful in some situations. At other times, fast thinking may contribute to us feeling more stressed than we need to be.

How does SlowMo work?

SlowMo therapy works by supporting people to notice their upsetting worries and fast thinking habits, and then provides tips to help them slow down for a moment to notice new information and safer thoughts. SlowMo consists of eight individual, face to face sessions, assisted by a website with interactive stories and games, to help people find out how fast thinking habits can contribute to upsetting thoughts. People try out tips to learn what helps them slow down their thinking and cope with worries, and a mobile app supports the use of these strategies in daily life.
SlowMo Therapy Website

How has SlowMo been evaluated?

SlowMo was tested in a randomised controlled trial with 362 participants from three NHS Foundation Trusts. Half were provided with SlowMo therapy and their usual care, while the other half continued to receive their usual care. SlowMo was found to effectively support people over 6 months, with improved paranoia, confidence, worry, wellbeing, and quality of life. The therapy worked, in part, by helping people slow down their thinking and worry less. The SlowMo trial Statistical Analysis Plan can be found here and the results were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Interested in finding out more about SlowMo?

This paper describes how SlowMo is a targeted yet personalised approach, and uses case examples to illustrate the therapy process and use of technology.

SlowMo therapy helps people “slow down” and manage their fears

We are pleased to share that the results of the SlowMo trial have been published JAMA Psychiatry. The trial found that SlowMo therapy effectively supports people to manage worries about harm from others (also known as paranoia) to help them get on with life.

SlowMo Trial – End of Recruitment!

We are very pleased to announce that recruitment for the SlowMo trial is now complete! Since we started two years ago, 362 people have taken part.

Slow Mo On BBC’s One Show

“When I was introduced to SlowMo I found it was such a good idea, a simple idea all about slowing your thoughts down and thinking things through […] I can say it has really changed my life.”   Hear one of our participants’, Angie talk about SlowMo therapy on the One Show.