04 July 2008

Dr Andrew Thompson has been awarded a grant from Sheffield Hospital Charitable Trust

Andrew Thompson has been awarded a £1,900 equipment grant from Sheffield Hospital Charitable Trust for a project entitled "Therapeutic writing intervention in Vitiligo: A case series exploration of psychological treatment." The project is a collaboration between this department and Dematology at STH (Professor D. Gawkrodger & Ms. J. King) and will run for 12 weeks (Researcher's time is already funded from elsewhere).

Abstract:
It is widely acknowledged that dermatology patients can experience psychosocial distress in connection with their skin condition. Unfortunately, few have access to psychological services. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of therapeutic writing for vitiligo patients. Twelve participants who are distressed by their vitiligo will be asked to write about their emotional experiences of the condition. It is thought on the basis of previous studies with other groups that this is likely to be therapeutic. Participants will complete regular questionnaires and provide saliva samples (to examine their stress response) before, during and after the intervention so that the effectiveness of this treatment can be examined. They will also be interviewed at the end of the study to ascertain their views on the treatment.