RESEARCHER MENTAL HEALTH
Our new project on researcher mental health, funded by the UKRI’s QR enhancing research culture fund, aims to understand how researchers’ working on emotionally demanding topics in academic, industry and third sector settings can be supported to ensure that their mental health is safeguarded. This vital work will enable those researching emotionally demanding topics to thrive.
On this page, you can find a summary of our progress!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​​​
​
​
​
We are currently recruiting researchers from academic and non-academic contexts to take part in our research.
We have co-designed best practice guidelines and our aim is to understand their real world applicability. To see the guidelines, click here, where you can also find out information on how to participate.​
​
Below you can find a link to our blog post where we introduce the project and the people and organisations who are a part of it.
Where did we begin?
Introducing the Advancing Safe Research for Researchers' Mental Health Project
Tap on the picture to learn about the new researcher mental health project.
Where are we now?
To date, 26 researchers with experience in conducting emotionally demanding research (EDR) have participated in our research. These experts represented academic and non-academic contexts and who helped us to identify best practices to promote researchers’ mental health in EDR.
Including experts in the study aided a collaborative and iterative process to generate new ideas relevant to those conducting this type of research. To further enhance the rigour, we conducted member reflections and discussed ideas with critical friends.
​
Our findings from this study have now been published!
​
Best practices for supporting researchers’ mental health in emotionally demanding research across academic and non-academic contexts
Tap on the picture to learn about our recent publication and learn more about best practices.
Best practices include:
Best practices should be:
01
The need for a psychologically informed research culture
02
Actions and principles in the immediate research environment
03
Researcher boundaries with the research, others, and oneself
01
Tailored
02
Iterative & flexible
03
Collaborative
Below are some quotes from co-authors of this study
​
Dr Meghan McDonough, University of Calgary and advisory group member
"The conversation about researcher mental health is important, particularly for those doing emotionally demanding work. Considering strategies individuals can use such as self-care, alongside the role of the researcher environment and larger context is helpful for making changes that support the well-being of researchers."
​
James Downs, Patient Representative for the Royal College of Psychiatry and advisory group member
"Ethical research rightly focuses on participant safety and support, but it’s just as important that it’s ethical for everyone involved— including researchers. With greater co-production, the divide between researcher and participant is increasingly blurred, and ethical responsibilities apply to all contributors. In my experience of mental health research, where personal experiences often shape involvement, I’ve seen the real challenges that can arise for researchers. We need to recognise these complexities and make sure that everyone—whether they are researching or being researched—is properly supported. A truly ethical approach means thinking beyond traditional roles and ensuring research is safe and fair for all involved."
But What do other researchers think?
"Could cause a ripple effect, improving not just researchers' wellbeing but also the quality of outcomes".
"This article was really thoughtfully done and it has inspired me to change how I approach my own facilitation of [emotionally demanding topics]. Especially shaped my thoughts on supporting my researcher colleagues."
"Really interesting article, such an important area to research into. Have seen similar experiences with [emotionally demanding topic], surprised at the support I needed to give the researchers when I had been focused on the patients joining the meeting."
Click here for best practice advice for conference organizers and delegates!
Based on extensive research into best practices, we have co-designed guidelines with an advisory group for protecting the mental health of researchers in emotionally demanding research.
​
We are pleased to announce the release of these guidelines. You can view and download them on our dedicated guidelines page here!
​
As phase 2 of our study, we would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the usefulness of these guidelines in your research context. To more information and how to take part, also visit our guidelines page.
​
​
Project Partners and collaborators
