Current project

Although providing support to a loved one with dementia is often accompanied with positive experiences, it can be hard at times. Research shows that family carers of people with dementia are much more likely to be depressed or anxious than other carers or non-carers and therefore need support with their mental health. Unfortunately, family carers are currently under-provided for by NHS psychological services. Some carers are unable to travel or do not have access to skilled therapists; for others, finding someone else to look after the person with dementia while the carer attends psychological services is difficult.

Online therapy could address issue of accessibility. This project will convert face-to-face Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia to an online mode of delivery combined with three face-to-face group sessions. The goal of the project is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of implementing ACT in this new way so that we can carry out a full research trial in the future.

ACT helps people to deal with the inevitable psychological pain and distress of life. ACT does not aim to eliminate this psychological pain and distress. Instead, ACT teaches people how to respond to painful thoughts and feelings in such a way that these experiences exert less influence over their actions. This way, more time is spent living a healthy life rather than fighting with thoughts and feelings. Many published studies support face-to-face ACT for people with anxiety or depression, but there is very little research into online ACT, which has not been tested with carers of people with dementia.

We will run initial tests of online ACT with carers across three NHS services to discover the pros and cons of this method. We will invite carers to take part in online ACT, which can be completed remotely. Online ACT will be combined with three face-to-face group meetings, which will be delivered in person or via video conferencing for those who are unable to travel. We will make changes based on carers’ and therapists’ feedback, which will help us design a larger trial of online ACT for this population.

PPI members advised us to include some face-to-face groups alongside online ACT so that carers can meet others and feel connected while completing online ACT. PPI members will actively participate as part of our research team and will be involved in every phase of the project.

We will hold a joint event with our PPI members to share the findings of this project with professionals from health and social care services, people with dementia, and their carers. This will also help the research team receive feedback before submitting a funding application for a larger trial.