The Lived Experiences of Distress Research Group researches lived experiences of mental distress, centring on how individuals interpret, embody, manage and live with mental health challenges.
An integral part of these investigations is the close examination of professional relationships and identities of staff and service users, in the context of delivering interventions. The team is engaged in a variety of diverse research projects across a number of NHS trusts and voluntary organisations, with an in-depth focus on in-patient psychiatric and community settings. Projects include examining the impact of familial and intimate relationships on treatment and recovery, the role of emotions in the development and maintenance of mental distress and the impact of space and setting on well-being. Professor Reavey is an honorary research consultant at St. Andrew’s Healthcare, where she leading on projects relating to lived experiences of distress in secure forensic psychiatric settings.
A further feature of this group is its use of innovative methodologies including action research and visual methods. Such eclectic and innovative research is bound together by a common goal of pushing forwards the boundaries of theory, while maximising its impact on society.
A number of researchers within the division of psychology and beyond share a common interest in examining mental health outside the traditional boundaries of psychiatry and diagnostic categories. The group includes members with lived experiences of distress, as a means to strength the experiential legitimacy of the group’s expertise and to ensure a co-production model is adhered to, where possible). Broadly these can be referred to as ‘psychosocial’ approaches to mental distress.
We have gained a reputation, won awards and attracted funding by providing theoretical and methodological justification for approaching the topic of mental health and distress in this way. Our expertise in qualitative research methods has strengthened our reputation with practitioners and researchers alike, and our strong commitment to working alongside users of the mental health system has attracted national and international acclaim.