For people who have personal experience of mental health problems
The Mental Health Research Network encourages people with personal experience of mental health problems to work with us, and get involved in individual research projects.
The studies we support all aim to improve NHS services and treatments – and we believe the people who use those services and potentially benefit from those treatments can give invaluable advice to researchers.
Each of our eight regional offices (called hubs) involves people with experience of mental health problems in their day-to-day work, and introduces individuals to research teams who want expert advice when planning or carrying out their studies.
‘Getting involved’ may mean going to a one-off meeting to give advice on a specific proposal. Or it may mean joining a research project steering committee that meets regularly, or going to meetings of a group of researchers planning future studies. It may mean advising research teams on the best way to recruit people as participants in their studies. Some of the studies we support employ people with experience of mental health problems as researchers.
Service Users in Research
We also run Service Users in Research, a network of people with experience of mental health problems who are interested in research. If you join Service Users in Research, we will regularly inform you about the research we support, and tell you about opportunities to get involved in projects.
Anyone who does any work for Service Users in Research or our hubs is paid for the hours they put in, and we have produced a guide to make sure payment for working with us does not adversely affect people who are on benefits (see Getting paid for your work page).
Service Users in Research coordinator Thomas Kabir is based in the Mental Health Research Network’s coordinating centre at the Institute of Psychiatry in south London.
If you would like to find out more, contact him on mhrnppi@kcl.ac.uk, or ring him on 020 7848 0644. Or read about some Service Users in Research members, why they got involved, and what they do with the Mental Health Research Network.
To become a member of Service Users in Research, fill in and submit the membership form online, or download a membership form here, print it out, fill it in and return it to:
FREEPOST Plus RSAY-JJZB-BSLG
MHRN Service Users in Research
Institute of Psychiatry PO77
De Crespigny Park
London SE5 8AF.
Or contact your local MHRN hub to find out about opportunities to get involved in their work, or in research studies that are running locally.
Service Users in Research publications
Service Users in Research commissions and produces various publications and policy documents about involvement in research. Visit the MHRN publications page to see these.
page last updated 20 February 2012