Skip to content

Can a brief relational talking therapy help adults who self-harm?

Relational Approach to Treating Self-Harm (RelATe): a feasibility study of cognitive analytic therapy for people who self-harm

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN75661422
Enrollment
60
Registered
2022-10-21
Start date
2023-02-13
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2026-04-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental health Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) will be delivered by a qualified band 7 or 8 practitioner with appropriate core professional training (e.g., clinical psychologist) who has undertaken additional train

Sponsors

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 110 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged 18 years or older 2. Three or more episodes of self-harm in the past year, confirmed via the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviours Interview 3. Can be safely seen in an outpatient clinical context in which treatment is being provided as judged by their clinical team or referrer

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Participants will be excluded if they have a moderate-to-severe intellectual disability (IQ:< 70) affecting their eligibility for community mental health services as judged by their clinical team or referrer 2. Organic cerebral disease/injury affecting receptive and expressive language comprehension as judged by their clinical team 3. Non-English speaking to the degree that the participant is unable to answer questions and give written informed consent 4. Imminent and immediate risk to self or others, operationalised as the presence of active suicidal intent or planning to end one's life in the near future (e.g. next week). Where individuals are excluded on this basis, with the person’s consent, the researcher will aim to recontact them and the referrer in approximately one month’s time (or a time period agreed upon in collaboration with the individual) to determine if the risk has subsided to a point where they are now eligible. 5. Currently an inpatient 6. Experiencing a current, active episode of psychosis or mania 7. Currently receiving another active one-to-one psychological therapy

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Measured using patient records: 1. Recruitment rates will be recorded across the 12 month recruitment period 2. Participant retention rate (completion of end-of-treatment follow-up assessments) will be recorded over 18 weeks (the length of time in the study) 3. Participant missing data on the primary outcomes (self-harm behaviour and urges) at assessment will be recorded over 18 weeks (the length of time in the study) 4. Adherence to treatment will be recorded as the percentage of participants receiving the minimum dose of therapy (=4 sessions) within the 10-week treatment window.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
1. Self-harm measured with the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviours Interview-Short Form (SITBI) at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 2. Self-harm urges measured with the Alexian Brothers Urges to Self-Injure Scale (ABUSI) at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 3. Dependence on self-ham measured with the experiences of Self-Injury Questionnaire Positive Beliefs subscale at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 4. Personality structure measured with the Personality Structure Questionnaire at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 5. Emotional distress measured with the Kessler Distress Scale at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 6. Interpersonal problems measured with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 at baseline, 12 weeks, and18 weeks 7. Health status measured with the EQ-5D-5L at baseline, 12 weeks, and 18 weeks 8. Adverse experiences from therapy measured with the Adverse Experiences in Psychotherapy scale (AEP) at12 weeks

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Apr 17, 2026