About us
The Service User Research Enterprise (SURE) is a unique academic research group comprised predominantly of researchers with direct experience of neurodiversity, trauma violence and abuse, mental distress, and/or (ref)using mental health services. We conduct research from the perspectives of first-person experiences, developing novel and robust methods and ethical approaches to do so. We teach and support new generations of survivor researchers who are themselves shaping what survivor research is (See Work or learn with us Tab below). We also work with a range of groups and organisations to develop survivor-led research activities in the community, academia and the NHS (See Work or learn with us Tab below). We also support the LEAK - the Lived Experience at King's network - a networking, support and discussion space for people who use their lived experience in their work or studies at King's.
SURE offers Advisory Sessions (See Work or learn with us Tab below) on patient and public involvement (PPI) to researchers in Mental Health and Psychological Sciences (IoPPN) and the Centre for Society and Mental Health (KCL). Please visit our booking page to find out more.
The current Director of SURE is Dr Angela Sweeney, a trauma survivor researcher and Senior Lecturer in User Led Research.
Over the coming year, SURE researchers will be exploring the unique values and vision underpinning our work, including our focus on collective action; consulting, and building relationships with other groups and organisations; and re-imagining and communicating our overall purpose and mission.
People
Visiting Lecturer
Lecturer in User Led Research
PhD Student
NIHR SSCR Capacity-Building Fellow
Founder & CEO, Traumascapes
Patient, Service User, Carer and Public Involvement Coordinator (ARC South London)
Projects
MAPS - Mapping Approaches to a Programme of Survivor-led research: co-developing our vision, values and principles
Principal Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Laura Fischer. Co-investigators: Siofra Peeren and Madison Wempe. MAPS is a partnership between the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE), Traumascapes and Survivors Voices, and is based in the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health. It is fully survivor-led and conceptualised. The MAPS project will bring together survivor-led organisations to co-develop and map the vision and underpinning principles for a values-based survivor-led research programme. A survivor artist-researcher from Traumascapes will design and produce a map that captures our vision, values and principles.
PATHWAY: Developing new care pathways for complex trauma
Principal Investigators: Angie Sweeney (SURE) and Steve Gillard (City, University of London) with Jane Chevous (Survivors Voices), Jessica Nielson-Jones (City, Univesrity of London), Jacqueline Sin (City, University of London) and Frank Rohricht (East London NHS Foundation Trust). Many people who use mental health services have experienced complex trauma, sometimes dating back to childhood. This can include violence, abuse and neglect as well as social traumas like poverty. People from racialised communities can experience trauma associated with racism and discrimination, and face inequalities of access to mental health care. Some people with complex trauma who use mental health services find themselves misdiagnosed, pathologised, bounced between services and decide to seek help from outside of the NHS as a result. We want to explore this, and develop a new trauma-informed care pathway (i.e. assessment and referral to appropriate support) for all people using mental health services.
At the edge of care
Principal Investigators: Dr Billie Lever Taylor and Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: The Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Research Network. The aim of this project was to develop our knowledge of experiences of support for families with mental health needs and children’s social services involvement. We know that these families often face multiple adversities, and we wanted to explore, from the perspectives of parents and practitioners, what helps and what the challenges are in meeting families’ needs in this context. Please visit our project webpage for more information:
Avoidable harm in mental health social care
Principal Investigator: Dr Sarah Carr, independent researcher. Co-Investigator: Dr Angela Sweeney, KCL. Co-Investigator: Tina Coldham, independent researcher. Funder: National Institute for Health Research, School for Social Care Research. This user-led study explored service users conceptualisation and experiences of avoidable harm in mental health social care, and explored their recommendations for its minimisation. Using a range of methods, including a national survey and focus groups, the research team developed a model of avoidable harm in mental health social care and how to reduce it. Traumascapes produced an interactive website for practitioners to support harm reduction. The website includes original artwork by Dolly Sen which captures her response to the research findings. A scoping review was published in a special issue of the British Journal of Social Work and a further paper is planned.
Mums Alone
Principal Investigators: Dr Billie Lever Taylor and Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: The Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Research Network. Many women experience significant unhappiness depression during pregnancy and in the first year after childbirth, known as the perinatal period, sometimes with serious consequences. Many women also find that their relationships and friendships change during and after pregnancy, which can make them feel lonely and isolated. However, there has been little research exploring how isolation connects to women’s experiences of unhappiness and depression. Also, little is known about how perinatal women describe loneliness and isolation in relation to their mental health. This project used existing qualitative and quantitative data to explore the relationships between loneliness, isolation and depression in a collaborative study.
Exploring characteristics, needs, and service use of mothers diagnosed with severe perinatal mental health difficulties and their infants in contact with the children’s social care system
Principal Investigator: Billie Lever Taylor. Co-Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Louise Howard. Funder: What Works for Children’s Social Care Spark Grant Scheme. This secondary analysis of quantitative data explored two key questions. First, what are the characteristics and needs of mothers who use acute care for perinatal mental health difficulties and who have infants in contact with children’s social care? Second, are some mothers (such as those from particular backgrounds or with particular needs) more likely to have a social care intervention? The study was guided by a Lived Experience Advisory Group who shaped data analysis decisions and participated in data workshops. We found that mothers with social care involvement were often experiencing wider adversity and inequity across multiple areas of their lives during an acute postpartum admission and at one-year follow-up and recommended a greater focus on supporting mothers with histories of trauma, adversity, and deprivation, along with greater collaboration between mental health, children’s social care, and third sector services.
APTT: Understanding and improving assessment processes for talking therapies
Principal Investigator: Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: National Institute for Health Research, Post Doctoral Fellowship Training Award. This survivor-led research programme aimed to understand service users’ experiences of assessments for talking therapies and generate evidence on best practice. This led to good practice guidelines for conducting trauma informed talking therapy assessments as well as a shorter quick reference guide. The guidelines have been endorsed by the British Psychological Society and the Trauma Informed Community of Action. They are based on literature reviews and three studies: a qualitative systematic review of service user experiences of talking therapy assessments which used thematic synthesis; a dyadic interview study of service users and assessors involved in the same assessment; and a modified Delphi study to develop the guidelines. Please see a list of publications below.
- Service user experiences of undergoing psychological therapy assessments.
- Dyadic experiences of psychological therapy assessments
- A systematic review of adults’ experiences of being assessed for psychological therapies.
- Mis-understanding trauma-informed approaches.
- Relationships in trauma-informed mental health services.
- Trauma-informed mental healthcare in the UK: what is it and how can we further its development?
- Trauma-Informed Assessment Guidelines
- Trauma-Informed Assessments Quick Reference Guide
Safe, Seen, Supported
Principal researchers: Jane Chevous, Laura E Fischer, Concetta Perot and Angela Sweeney. Partners: Survivors' Voices, the UKRI Violence Abuse and Mental Health Network, King's College London, and the McPin Foundation. Approximately one in five children are estimated to experience child abuse or neglect before the age of 16. Much of this abuse is ‘off-radar’, that is, unknown to statutory services. This survivor-led project aimed to address the magnified risks of child abuse from COVID-19 and the likely significant post-pandemic consequences from increased exposure to abuse. The report identifies key considerations and actions to support children and young people at-risk, both during the pandemic and beyond.
Patient and public involvement in the ARC South London
The Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London, which launched in October 2019, is a five year cycle of research and partnership activities funded by the National Institute of Health Research. The ARC South London aims to embed partnerships between universities, NHS trusts, charities and local service users and carers, in order to improve health and social care service provision in South London. The Patient and Public Involvement Research theme of the ARC is a collaboration between SURE and the Centre for Public Engagement (CPE) at Kingston and St George’s University of London. The ARC PPI research theme aims to understand and improve patient and public involvement (PPI) in different institutional contexts including research organisations, health services and commissioning. SURE staff also have a key role in strengthening patient, service user, carer and public involvement across the ARC's various themes, through an implementation and involvement team, led by the Health Innovation Network. This team coordinated development of the ARC's overall involvement strategy and is now taking it forward, including extending engagement and collaboration with user-led groups and community organisations across South London. For the activities of the ARC South London PPI Research theme, please contact stan.papoulias@kcl.ac.uk To find out more about the ARC South London Involvement Strategy and related activities, please contact savitri.hensman@kcl.ac.uk
CANVAS: Covid-19 And the Needs of domestic Violence and Abuse Services
Principal Investigators: PJ Annand and Aoife Sadlier. Co-Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Andrew Guise. Collaborators: Nadia Mantovani (SGUL), Mary Mason (Solace Women’s Aid), Shreya Ila Anasuya (KCL) and Laura Fischer (independent researcher and KCL). Funder: King’s Together. Lockdown measures serve to shut down routes to safety and support for people experiencing domestic violence, and function as a tool for coercion and control by perpetrators. However, government policy and legislation drafted in response to COVID-19, appears to lack provision for people experiencing domestic violence and the services that support them. Our project aims to understand the needs of domestic violence organisations through qualitative research with ten organisations. Our focus includes how the needs of domestic violence organisations have changed because of the pandemic, the extent to which changing needs have been met by government action, which needs are likely to persist over time and how changing and persistent needs might be addressed. Our study is interdisciplinary and includes experts in violence, trauma, mental health, health inequalities, gender and sexuality, labour and human rights.
MAPS - Mapping Approaches to a Programme of Survivor-led research: co-developing our vision, values and principles
Bringing together survivor-led organisations to co-develop and map the vision and underpinning principles for a values-based survivor-led research programme.
Measuring the harms of interpersonal violence
This systematic review aimed to review the research evidence on the mental health impacts of interpersonal violence
Work or learn with us
Work with us
Survivor research is the systematic exploration of issues that are important to service users and survivors, using experience-based methodologies, leading to new, transferable knowledge. In SURE, we conduct, support and teach survivor research from the perspectives of people with direct experience of neurodiversity; trauma, violence and abuse; mental distress; and/or using (or refusing) mental health services. Our work seeks to take into account multiple forms of disadvantage and discrimination which may affect people with relevant lived experience, including racial inequality. The projects tab gives examples of our current projects.
SURE works with researchers from a range of groups and organisations to develop survivor-led research, often nested within existing studies/programmes. Examples include:
- Designing, leading and conducting qualitative work packages that explore phenomena from service user and survivor perspectives, bringing new, critical perspectives and depth to wider study findings.
- Developing and validating Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) using survivor-led methodologies to ensure that the outcomes that matter to service users/survivors are captured.
- Developing and testing novel methodologies to investigate phenomena from service user/survivor perspectives.
- Co-producing studies (that align with service user/survivor priorities), with extensive Patient and Public Involvement to increase meaningful partnership working between different stakeholders.
- Working with a range of survivor-led and controlled community partner organisations to increase reliability and trust in the research process and develop creative outputs. The partners tab lists some of these organisations.
PPI Advisory Sessions
We also offer advisory sessions on patient and public involvement (PPI) to researchers in Mental Health and Psychological Sciences (IoPPN) and the Centre for Society and Mental Health (KCL).
The sessions are for:
- Researchers who have funds for PPI, or intend to apply for funds.
- Are at a relatively early stage of planning a research study and PPI.
Our expert advisors are very happy to offer guidance and onward signposting, but cannot replace the need for PPI consultations on your proposed research, costed PPI in funded research or a PPI study lead.
To book a session, please visit our booking page.
In the meantime, the ARC South London has an excellent directory of PPI resources: https://arc-sl.nihr.ac.uk/involving-patients-public/resources-support-involvement-research
Learn with us
SURE researchers teach survivor research methods, and supervise survivor research studies – all from the perspectives of people with direct experience of neurodiversity, trauma violence and abuse, mental distress, and/or using (or refusing) mental health services.
- If you are a student, or prospective student, interested in discussing supervision with us, please contact the relevant potential supervisor directly (see our ‘People’ tab) or alternatively contact Angela Sweeney on angela.sweeney@kcl.ac.uk
- If you are an educator interested in discussing potential teaching on survivor research and its methods, please contact Angela Sweeney on angela.sweeney@kcl.ac.uk
- If you are a service user or survivor wishing to gain research skills, read on…
Research Methods: A Practical Guide to Peer and Community Research
Researchers in the Centre for Society and Mental Health have developed a free, practical course which aims to support people - with or without research experience – to identify how to conduct an ethical research project. To learn more about this free course, and to sign up, visit:
People
Visiting Lecturer
Lecturer in User Led Research
PhD Student
NIHR SSCR Capacity-Building Fellow
Founder & CEO, Traumascapes
Patient, Service User, Carer and Public Involvement Coordinator (ARC South London)
Projects
MAPS - Mapping Approaches to a Programme of Survivor-led research: co-developing our vision, values and principles
Principal Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Laura Fischer. Co-investigators: Siofra Peeren and Madison Wempe. MAPS is a partnership between the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE), Traumascapes and Survivors Voices, and is based in the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health. It is fully survivor-led and conceptualised. The MAPS project will bring together survivor-led organisations to co-develop and map the vision and underpinning principles for a values-based survivor-led research programme. A survivor artist-researcher from Traumascapes will design and produce a map that captures our vision, values and principles.
PATHWAY: Developing new care pathways for complex trauma
Principal Investigators: Angie Sweeney (SURE) and Steve Gillard (City, University of London) with Jane Chevous (Survivors Voices), Jessica Nielson-Jones (City, Univesrity of London), Jacqueline Sin (City, University of London) and Frank Rohricht (East London NHS Foundation Trust). Many people who use mental health services have experienced complex trauma, sometimes dating back to childhood. This can include violence, abuse and neglect as well as social traumas like poverty. People from racialised communities can experience trauma associated with racism and discrimination, and face inequalities of access to mental health care. Some people with complex trauma who use mental health services find themselves misdiagnosed, pathologised, bounced between services and decide to seek help from outside of the NHS as a result. We want to explore this, and develop a new trauma-informed care pathway (i.e. assessment and referral to appropriate support) for all people using mental health services.
At the edge of care
Principal Investigators: Dr Billie Lever Taylor and Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: The Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Research Network. The aim of this project was to develop our knowledge of experiences of support for families with mental health needs and children’s social services involvement. We know that these families often face multiple adversities, and we wanted to explore, from the perspectives of parents and practitioners, what helps and what the challenges are in meeting families’ needs in this context. Please visit our project webpage for more information:
Avoidable harm in mental health social care
Principal Investigator: Dr Sarah Carr, independent researcher. Co-Investigator: Dr Angela Sweeney, KCL. Co-Investigator: Tina Coldham, independent researcher. Funder: National Institute for Health Research, School for Social Care Research. This user-led study explored service users conceptualisation and experiences of avoidable harm in mental health social care, and explored their recommendations for its minimisation. Using a range of methods, including a national survey and focus groups, the research team developed a model of avoidable harm in mental health social care and how to reduce it. Traumascapes produced an interactive website for practitioners to support harm reduction. The website includes original artwork by Dolly Sen which captures her response to the research findings. A scoping review was published in a special issue of the British Journal of Social Work and a further paper is planned.
Mums Alone
Principal Investigators: Dr Billie Lever Taylor and Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: The Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Research Network. Many women experience significant unhappiness depression during pregnancy and in the first year after childbirth, known as the perinatal period, sometimes with serious consequences. Many women also find that their relationships and friendships change during and after pregnancy, which can make them feel lonely and isolated. However, there has been little research exploring how isolation connects to women’s experiences of unhappiness and depression. Also, little is known about how perinatal women describe loneliness and isolation in relation to their mental health. This project used existing qualitative and quantitative data to explore the relationships between loneliness, isolation and depression in a collaborative study.
Exploring characteristics, needs, and service use of mothers diagnosed with severe perinatal mental health difficulties and their infants in contact with the children’s social care system
Principal Investigator: Billie Lever Taylor. Co-Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Louise Howard. Funder: What Works for Children’s Social Care Spark Grant Scheme. This secondary analysis of quantitative data explored two key questions. First, what are the characteristics and needs of mothers who use acute care for perinatal mental health difficulties and who have infants in contact with children’s social care? Second, are some mothers (such as those from particular backgrounds or with particular needs) more likely to have a social care intervention? The study was guided by a Lived Experience Advisory Group who shaped data analysis decisions and participated in data workshops. We found that mothers with social care involvement were often experiencing wider adversity and inequity across multiple areas of their lives during an acute postpartum admission and at one-year follow-up and recommended a greater focus on supporting mothers with histories of trauma, adversity, and deprivation, along with greater collaboration between mental health, children’s social care, and third sector services.
APTT: Understanding and improving assessment processes for talking therapies
Principal Investigator: Dr Angela Sweeney. Funder: National Institute for Health Research, Post Doctoral Fellowship Training Award. This survivor-led research programme aimed to understand service users’ experiences of assessments for talking therapies and generate evidence on best practice. This led to good practice guidelines for conducting trauma informed talking therapy assessments as well as a shorter quick reference guide. The guidelines have been endorsed by the British Psychological Society and the Trauma Informed Community of Action. They are based on literature reviews and three studies: a qualitative systematic review of service user experiences of talking therapy assessments which used thematic synthesis; a dyadic interview study of service users and assessors involved in the same assessment; and a modified Delphi study to develop the guidelines. Please see a list of publications below.
- Service user experiences of undergoing psychological therapy assessments.
- Dyadic experiences of psychological therapy assessments
- A systematic review of adults’ experiences of being assessed for psychological therapies.
- Mis-understanding trauma-informed approaches.
- Relationships in trauma-informed mental health services.
- Trauma-informed mental healthcare in the UK: what is it and how can we further its development?
- Trauma-Informed Assessment Guidelines
- Trauma-Informed Assessments Quick Reference Guide
Safe, Seen, Supported
Principal researchers: Jane Chevous, Laura E Fischer, Concetta Perot and Angela Sweeney. Partners: Survivors' Voices, the UKRI Violence Abuse and Mental Health Network, King's College London, and the McPin Foundation. Approximately one in five children are estimated to experience child abuse or neglect before the age of 16. Much of this abuse is ‘off-radar’, that is, unknown to statutory services. This survivor-led project aimed to address the magnified risks of child abuse from COVID-19 and the likely significant post-pandemic consequences from increased exposure to abuse. The report identifies key considerations and actions to support children and young people at-risk, both during the pandemic and beyond.
Patient and public involvement in the ARC South London
The Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London, which launched in October 2019, is a five year cycle of research and partnership activities funded by the National Institute of Health Research. The ARC South London aims to embed partnerships between universities, NHS trusts, charities and local service users and carers, in order to improve health and social care service provision in South London. The Patient and Public Involvement Research theme of the ARC is a collaboration between SURE and the Centre for Public Engagement (CPE) at Kingston and St George’s University of London. The ARC PPI research theme aims to understand and improve patient and public involvement (PPI) in different institutional contexts including research organisations, health services and commissioning. SURE staff also have a key role in strengthening patient, service user, carer and public involvement across the ARC's various themes, through an implementation and involvement team, led by the Health Innovation Network. This team coordinated development of the ARC's overall involvement strategy and is now taking it forward, including extending engagement and collaboration with user-led groups and community organisations across South London. For the activities of the ARC South London PPI Research theme, please contact stan.papoulias@kcl.ac.uk To find out more about the ARC South London Involvement Strategy and related activities, please contact savitri.hensman@kcl.ac.uk
CANVAS: Covid-19 And the Needs of domestic Violence and Abuse Services
Principal Investigators: PJ Annand and Aoife Sadlier. Co-Investigators: Angela Sweeney and Andrew Guise. Collaborators: Nadia Mantovani (SGUL), Mary Mason (Solace Women’s Aid), Shreya Ila Anasuya (KCL) and Laura Fischer (independent researcher and KCL). Funder: King’s Together. Lockdown measures serve to shut down routes to safety and support for people experiencing domestic violence, and function as a tool for coercion and control by perpetrators. However, government policy and legislation drafted in response to COVID-19, appears to lack provision for people experiencing domestic violence and the services that support them. Our project aims to understand the needs of domestic violence organisations through qualitative research with ten organisations. Our focus includes how the needs of domestic violence organisations have changed because of the pandemic, the extent to which changing needs have been met by government action, which needs are likely to persist over time and how changing and persistent needs might be addressed. Our study is interdisciplinary and includes experts in violence, trauma, mental health, health inequalities, gender and sexuality, labour and human rights.
MAPS - Mapping Approaches to a Programme of Survivor-led research: co-developing our vision, values and principles
Bringing together survivor-led organisations to co-develop and map the vision and underpinning principles for a values-based survivor-led research programme.
Measuring the harms of interpersonal violence
This systematic review aimed to review the research evidence on the mental health impacts of interpersonal violence
Work or learn with us
Work with us
Survivor research is the systematic exploration of issues that are important to service users and survivors, using experience-based methodologies, leading to new, transferable knowledge. In SURE, we conduct, support and teach survivor research from the perspectives of people with direct experience of neurodiversity; trauma, violence and abuse; mental distress; and/or using (or refusing) mental health services. Our work seeks to take into account multiple forms of disadvantage and discrimination which may affect people with relevant lived experience, including racial inequality. The projects tab gives examples of our current projects.
SURE works with researchers from a range of groups and organisations to develop survivor-led research, often nested within existing studies/programmes. Examples include:
- Designing, leading and conducting qualitative work packages that explore phenomena from service user and survivor perspectives, bringing new, critical perspectives and depth to wider study findings.
- Developing and validating Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) using survivor-led methodologies to ensure that the outcomes that matter to service users/survivors are captured.
- Developing and testing novel methodologies to investigate phenomena from service user/survivor perspectives.
- Co-producing studies (that align with service user/survivor priorities), with extensive Patient and Public Involvement to increase meaningful partnership working between different stakeholders.
- Working with a range of survivor-led and controlled community partner organisations to increase reliability and trust in the research process and develop creative outputs. The partners tab lists some of these organisations.
PPI Advisory Sessions
We also offer advisory sessions on patient and public involvement (PPI) to researchers in Mental Health and Psychological Sciences (IoPPN) and the Centre for Society and Mental Health (KCL).
The sessions are for:
- Researchers who have funds for PPI, or intend to apply for funds.
- Are at a relatively early stage of planning a research study and PPI.
Our expert advisors are very happy to offer guidance and onward signposting, but cannot replace the need for PPI consultations on your proposed research, costed PPI in funded research or a PPI study lead.
To book a session, please visit our booking page.
In the meantime, the ARC South London has an excellent directory of PPI resources: https://arc-sl.nihr.ac.uk/involving-patients-public/resources-support-involvement-research
Learn with us
SURE researchers teach survivor research methods, and supervise survivor research studies – all from the perspectives of people with direct experience of neurodiversity, trauma violence and abuse, mental distress, and/or using (or refusing) mental health services.
- If you are a student, or prospective student, interested in discussing supervision with us, please contact the relevant potential supervisor directly (see our ‘People’ tab) or alternatively contact Angela Sweeney on angela.sweeney@kcl.ac.uk
- If you are an educator interested in discussing potential teaching on survivor research and its methods, please contact Angela Sweeney on angela.sweeney@kcl.ac.uk
- If you are a service user or survivor wishing to gain research skills, read on…
Research Methods: A Practical Guide to Peer and Community Research
Researchers in the Centre for Society and Mental Health have developed a free, practical course which aims to support people - with or without research experience – to identify how to conduct an ethical research project. To learn more about this free course, and to sign up, visit:
Our Partners
In SURE, we collaborate and engage with a wide range of (often survivor-controlled) groups, research centres and organisations. Information and contact details for some of our partner organisations can be found below.
Traumascapes is a survivor-led organisation dedicated to changing the ecosystem of trauma and creating new horizons for survivors. Traumascapes combines lived expertise, art, and science into six workstreams: research, consultancy, education, advocacy, community, and healing. Together, these workstreams aim to understand trauma and develop new embodied healing approaches; equip professionals and institutions with the skills to work sensitively with lived experience; build knowledge of trauma; rewrite the sociocultural narrative of trauma; disrupt violent societies with safety and mutuality; and support survivors to heal through survivor-led creative therapeutic approaches. Traumascapes’ vision is a world that fosters safety and freedom to be, with a culture of understanding and mutuality, where healing is led by survivors, trauma is transformed, and joy is claimed. Website: www.traumascapes.org; Email: hello@traumascapes.org Instagram/Twitter: @traumascapes
Survivors Voices is a survivor-led organisation that harnesses the expertise of people affected by abuse in order to change society’s response to trauma. Their work is undertaken by an experienced network of volunteers and freelancers from a variety of backgrounds including: peer support networks for survivors; training and education including with universities, charities, health and care services and the church; and research and resources including The Charter for Engaging Survivors and the Survivor Involvement Ladder which evaluates survivor involvement in research. Website: www.survivorsvoices.org Email: connect@survivorsvoices.org Twitter: @voiceofsurvivor Facebook: www.facebook.com/survivorsvoicesuk/
The Survivor Researcher Network is a UK based user-controlled network for mental health service users and survivors with an interest in research. Previously hosted by NSUN, it is now an independent network and Community Interest Company which undertakes user-led research and evaluations and offers mentoring, training and consultancy for co-produced research. For survivor researchers, it offers a monthly discussion group, peer support, a newsletter, and a website with links to resources and opportunities. Their Manifesto and website can be viewed here. The SRN welcomes approaches from potential partners regarding research, training and consultancy.
Peer Hub CIC is a user-led, trauma-informed and human rights based not-for-profit organisation in County Durham, England. Established during the Covid-19 pandemic, they provide training and consultancy services for organisations who are seeking to make large scale change including implementing trauma informed care, rights-based approaches and peer support workforces. They use only choice-based strategic change and development tools, and promote the rights and relationships of staff, service users and communities in all the work they do. Peer Hub also provides practice and awareness trainings, including workforce-wide, bespoke packages in trauma informed approaches and peer support practice. Their income is reinvested in community services to provide free to access services for people experiencing struggle and injustice, and to support the development of lived experience and survivor fields of work. Find out more about them at http://www.peerhub.co.uk
The Trauma Informed Community of Action (TICA) aims to promote trauma-informed practice and shared learning, and shape and inform national policy and collaboration. It is based on the NHS Futures online platform, and is a place to discuss ideas and practice, find validated resources, and hear about and engage in research. TICA does this through webinars and events, connecting people on similar issues, sharing validated resources and learning together what trauma informed good practice looks like. We are always happy to receive more members, to join TICA please visit the Future NHS Platform. Alternatively, please email Divya on divya.dinraj@ahsn-nenc.org.uk
The ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health exists to ensure that the impact of social context is central to how we think about and understand mental health. Research within the Centre aims to improve our understanding of the complex interrelationships between society and mental health; create platforms that enable new collaborations between disciplines and with community partners; and work closely with service users/survivors, communities, practitioners, and policy makers to design and assess novel evidence-based strategies for prevention and intervention. Website: www.kcl.ac.uk/csmh Email: csmh@kcl.ac.uk Twitter: @kcsamh Mailing list: https://bit.ly/CSMH_MailingList
QUAHRC is a qualitative research centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. The core QUAHRC team includes members from SURE (Angela Sweeney and Stan Papoulias). The QUAHRC aims to showcase the depth and breadth of applied qualitative health research across King’s College London; connect, train and support qualitative researchers; exchange knowledge and enable networking; and stimulate discussion on qualitative theory, methods and practice in order to contribute to high quality qualitative research. Website: www.quahrc.co.uk Email: quahrc@kcl.ac.uk Twitter: @quahrc Mailing list: www.quahrc.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list
