Mentalization Orientated Psychoeducation Group for Adult ADHD (MOPAD)
ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity
What this study involves
The registry does not currently label this study as recruiting. Ask about its status before planning a screening visit.
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Age range
- 18 years - 65 years
- Sex eligible
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Participants
- 16 Estimated
These are starting points, not an eligibility decision. The research team must review the full requirements.
About the research
Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-a neurodevelopmental condition affecting focus, impulse control, and activity levels-often face poor quality of life, emotion management difficulties, and interpersonal challenges. While medication helps core symptoms, it is not always tolerated or fully effective for emotional dysregulation. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends psychological therapies as secondary options, but lacks sufficient evidence to endorse a specific intervention.
The MOPAD study tests whether an introductory Mentalization-Based Treatment (iMBT)-a psychological therapy helping people understand their own and others' mental states-can be delivered in a group format. MBT successfully improves mood and relationship issues in other conditions, offering potential non-drug benefits for adults with ADHD.
This non-randomised interventional feasibility study will recruit 16 adults with diagnosed ADHD. Participants will undertake a 12-week intervention of weekly 100-105 minute group iMBT sessions. Before and after the treatment, participants will complete standardized questionnaires assessing ADHD symptoms, quality of life, emotion regulation, impulsivity, and mentalizing capacity (e.g., ASRS v1.1, CAARS-2, AAQoL, DERS-18, UPPS, MENT-S, RFQ-8), alongside post-study qualitative interviews to share their experiences.
Eligible participants are adults with ADHD recruited from NHS clinical sites. Primary goals are evaluating recruitment (target: 11 participants), retention (target: 70%), safety, therapy fidelity, and patient acceptability. Secondary goals include evaluating clinician feedback and gathering resource data to calculate sample size requirements for a future full-scale trial.
Who may be able to participate?
The list below is the sponsor’s full registry wording. It can include conditions, prior treatment, test results and other requirements. A match in search does not mean you qualify.
Inclusion Criteria:
- • A minimum age of 18 - 65 years at time of consent
- Able to provide written consent with an Informed Consent Form signed by the participant
- Have ADHD as principal diagnosis using following diagnostic instruments. DIVA or ACE under an NHS Neurodevelopmental Service completed within the last 24 months.
- Proficient in spoken English.
Exclusion Criteria:
- • Comorbidities of antisocial PD, autistic spectrum disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, substance abuse disorder as principal or burdensome diagnosis, at the discretion of the PI.
- On a titrating dose of ADHD or other Psychotropic medication.
Treatment, groups and participation
The registry may describe treatments and study duration without a complete visit calendar. Ask the study team for the exact schedule, procedures, risks, costs and alternatives. Keep your usual care plan unless your treating clinician tells you otherwise.
- Assignment
- Not applicable
- Masking
- No masking
Introductory Mentalization based group therapy
Adults with a Diagnosis of ADHD in last two years from a NHS Neurodevelopmental service.
Behavioral: The MOPAD study tests whether an introductory Mentalization-Based Treatment (iMBT)
The MOPAD study tests whether an introductory Mentalization-Based Treatment (iMBT) BEHAVIORAL
A psychological therapy helping people understand their own and others' mental state. 12 weeks group intervention. Each session will last 100-105 minutes including 10-15 minutes break.
What researchers are measuring
Outcome measures describe what is being studied. They are not proof that a treatment works.
Primary measures
This study will examine the feasibility of delivering 12 weekly sessions (90minutes/session plus 10/15 min break in between) of iMBT in a group format to adults with ADHD.
Time frame: 20 months
Recruitment rate :
The percentage of participants recruited in the study. It will be considered feasible if 11 out of 16 patients were recruited for the intervention.
This study will examine the feasibility of delivering 12 weekly sessions (90minutes/session plus 10/15 min break in between) of iMBT in a group format to adults with ADHD.
Time frame: 20 months
Attrition rate :
The percentage of participants retained in the study. It will be considered feasible if 70% were retained by the end of intervention.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
ASRS V1.1 (Adult ADHD self-report scale) :
- What it measures: Symptom frequency and presentation of adult ADHD over the prior 6 months, directly mapped to diagnostic criteria.
- Score Range: Consists of 18 items split into Part A (6 core screening items) and Part B (12 tracking items). Items use a 5-point frequency scale (0 = Never to 4 = Very Often), yielding a total raw score range of 0 to 72.
- Interpretation: Part A is the primary screening mechanism. If an individual marks 4 or more responses within the darkly shaded boxes in Part A, it indicates a high likelihood of ADHD and warrants a formal clinical evaluation. Part B tracks broader symptom severity across domains without a strict diagnostic cutoff.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
CAARS-2 (Conners Adult ADHD Rating scale)
- What it measures: Core ADHD symptoms and associated clinical impairments (such as emotional dysregulation and negative self-concept) in adults aged 18 and older.
- Score Range: Raw scores from self and observer reports are converted into standardized T-scores, which typically range from below 30 to over 90. It also generates a dedicated ADHD Index probability score spanning 1% to 99%.
- Interpretation: Standardized T-scores are normalized around a mean of 50. A T-score of 60-64 represents elevated symptoms, while a T-score of 65 or higher is considered clinically significant (highly elevated). For the ADHD Index, a probability score between 90% and 99% indicates a "Very High" likelihood that the profile matches individuals diagnosed with ADHD.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
AAQoL (Adult ADHD Quality of life)
- What it measures: The specific impact of ADHD on an individual's health-related quality of life over the past two weeks. It evaluates four distinct domains: Life Productivity, Psychological Health, Life Outlook, and Relationships.
- Score Range: 29 items are originally rated on a 1-to-5 Likert scale, which are then reverse-scored and mathematically transformed onto a standardized scale of 0 to 100.
- Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a better quality of life and fewer functional impairments. Scores are generally tiered into severity thresholds:
- 76-100: Little to no quality-of-life impairment.
- 51-75: Mild impairment.
- 26-50: Moderate impairment.
- 0-25: Severe functional impairment.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
DERS-18 (Difficulties in Emotion regulation 18)
- What it measures: Deficits in emotional regulation capacities across six dimensions: emotional non-acceptance, difficulty engaging in goal-directed behaviors, impulse control issues, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to regulation strategies, and lack of emotional clarity.
- Score Range: 18 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Almost Never to 5 = Almost Always). The total score ranges from 18 to 90.
- Interpretation: Higher total and subscale scores indicate greater difficulties with emotion regulation (more severe dysregulation). It is highly useful in tracking treatment progress or evaluating clinical distress underlying internalizing psychopathology.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
UPPS (Impulsive behaviour scale)
- What it measures: Five distinct personality pathways that lead to impulsive action: Negative Urgency (acting rashly when distressed), Positive Urgency (acting rashly when overjoyed), Lack of Premeditation (failing to plan ahead), Lack of Perseverance (quitting difficult tasks), and Sensation Seeking.
- Score Range: The full questionnaire consists of 59 statements rated from 1 (Agree Strongly) to 4 (Disagree Strongly). Items are averaged per dimension to yield an item mean scoring range from 1 to 4.
- Interpretation: Higher item mean scores (closer to 4) represent higher levels of impulsivity along that specific dimension. Because the traits operate independently, an individual can score high on one trait (like Sensation Seeking) and low on another (like Negative Urgency)
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
MENT-S (The mentalization scale)
- What it measures: The fundamental capacity to mentalize-meaning the reflective ability to perceive, interpret, and understand your own mental states as well as the mental states of others. It breaks down into Self-Related, Other-Related, and Motivation to Mentalize subscales.
- Score Range: 28 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Completely Untrue to 5 = Completely True). Total scores range from 28 to 140.
- Interpretation: Higher total scores indicate a stronger global mentalization capacity and healthier, more adaptive reflective functioning. Lower scores indicate an impaired capacity to comprehend emotional or cognitive motivations behind human behavior.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
RFQ-8 (Reflective function Questionnaire)
- What it measures: Extreme variations in adult mentalizing capabilities, explicitly flagging hypomentalizing (an inability to consider mental states) or hypermentalizing (developing overly complex, inaccurate assumptions about the mind).
- Score Range: 8 items rated on a 1-to-7 scale. Using the primary scoring algorithm, items are recoded to center around an optimal middle ground, yielding subscale score ranges (Certainty vs. Uncertainty) from 0 to 3.
- Interpretation:
- Uncertainty Subscale (RFQ\_U): High scores indicate hypomentalizing, pointing to a concrete lack of knowledge about mental states.
- Certainty Subscale (RFQ\_C): Moderate scores indicate healthy, realistic certainty about the mind. Conversely, extreme high scores on this subscale reflect hypermentalizing (assuming absolute, ungrounded insight into what others are thinking)
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
Adverse events (AE) or serious AE during the trial. This will counted in numbers identified through a clear process outlined in protocol.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
Fidelity of delivery : Adherence will be measured through supervision of the sessions and report from supervisors.
The study also aims to compare pre and post iMBT group clinical outcome data.
Time frame: 20 months
Acceptability of the intervention to participants: through interview of the participants. Will be reported as themes and quotes from participants.
Secondary measures
Resource outcomes:
Time frame: 20 months
Time taken to recruit participants: Reported in days
Resource outcomes:
Time frame: 20 months
Sample size calculation in number
Resource outcomes:
Time frame: 20 months
Data collection success (percentage of participants completed the outcome measures)
Resource outcomes:
Time frame: 20 months
Initial assessment of the financial resources required to scale the study: reported in number of professionals involved and how much on average they had to offer in hours/week from the onset of recruitment to completion of the trial.
Exploratory endpoints/outcomes
Time frame: 20 months
Participants experience of the intervention
Exploratory endpoints/outcomes
Time frame: 20 months
Facilitators' and Co-facilitators' experience of the intervention.
Review the complete result tables and limitations in the official record.
Open official results ↗Research locations (0)
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No locations are listed. Use the official study contact.
Study team and timeline
- Lead sponsor
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Study start
- Mar 1, 2027 Estimated
- Primary completion
- Nov 1, 2028 Estimated
- Study completion
- Nov 1, 2028 Estimated
- First posted
- Nov 10, 2026 Actual
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026 Actual
Official study contacts
Official study title
A Feasibility Study on Mentalization Orientated Psychoeducation Group for Adults With ADHD
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Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Information is submitted by sponsors and investigators. NLM does not approve the safety or science of all listed studies. Registry disclaimer.
Retrieved: Nov 12, 2026 · Last registry update: Nov 10, 2026