Successful Treatment of Paranoia (STOP)
Project overview
Previously, McPin has supported the development and testing of STOP (Successful Treatment of Paranoia) a smartphone app that delivers Cognitive Bias Modification for Paranoia (CBM-pa). CBM-pa is a therapy programme designed to help people think about potentially paranoia-inducing situations in different ways. Using examples of everyday situations, the app helps people come up with alternative explanations which are less likely to cause paranoid thinking.
This project aims to follow on from that project by extending the functionality of the app to support those experiencing mild paranoia symptoms as a method of early, non-clinical support.
The study is hosted by King’s College London, and funded through the Economic and Social Research Council – King’s MedTech Accelerator Fellowship which has been awarded to McPin. The study began in February 2026 and will continue for one year until February 2027. You can read more about the study on the study website: www.stoptrial.co.uk.
Project details
Paranoia is associated with a range of mental health issues, including psychosis. However, population estimates suggest that the prevalence of mild, non-clinical paranoia, or exaggerated suspiciousness, could be as high as 30% in the general population.
In this project, the goal is to extend the impact of the STOP app beyond clinical populations to those living in the community. The project will also attempt to reduce the societal stigma surrounding paranoia by normalising the experience of exaggerated suspiciousness.
On this project, McPin is working with researchers based at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience (IOPPN) at King’s College London.
Our role is to provide service user involvement in the study. We support a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) of ten service users.
McPin’s input will include:
- Organising quarterly LEAP advisory meetings
- Coordinating service user input for the development of the smartphone app, including focus groups, workshops and feedback consultation sessions.
- Recruiting members of the LEAP and also participants to take part in user testing of the app.
- Contributing to dissemination activities.
Please email [email protected] for more information.
You can read a summary of the CBM-pa project results below:
Project resources
Cognitive bias modification for paranoia infographic
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