START DATE AND DURATION: October 2020The COSI study is a 4-year multi-site randomised controlled trial to investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness of an 8-session, group-based intervention called Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) for mothers in NHS perinatal mental health services (PMHS). The COS-P Intervention is designed to help parents manage their difficult emotions and understand the impact of this on the mother-infant relationship.
This research aims to understand whether the Circle of Security-Parenting Intervention is more effective than treatment as usual (TAU) in improving symptoms of maternal mental illness and the quality of mother-infant relationships. Secondary objectives of the trial are to explore maternal sensitivity, emotion regulation skills, attachment security and infant development in addition to assessing cost-effectiveness, service-user and practitioner acceptability.
As part of the PhD project, researchers are also reviewing the literature to understand the clinical effectiveness of group interventions for parents with mental health difficulties and children under 5. The results of the systematic review will help to evaluate the effective components and overall impact of group interventions implemented to this specific group of parents.
This research is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme.
