To make research relevant, we involve service users and people who care for or support those with mental health disorders.
Involvement is critical to improving research we carry out, and helps researchers consider the patient’s perspective.
Join us if you are willing to give your opinion from your own experiences.
There are many ways people can take an active role in the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), from helping to design research projects, to taking part in advisory groups or advising on research documents and procedures.
Research Club at South London and Maudsley
The aim of the Research Club is to bring research to a wide audience. It is a collaboration between the SLaM Recovery College and Lived Experience Research Ambassadors and aims to make research accessible to service users and staff. We want everyone to feel they are able to discuss and get involved in research, learn research-based skills and feel confident to bring research into their practice, as well as understanding the impact that it has on mental health treatment and services.
In the Club, King's College London researchers will share their experiences of developing a study, how it was carried out and what the findings were. Usually someone involved in co-production, and a participant, will also present on their experiences. Find out more about research taking place at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust here.
The Research Club takes place online, on the last Thursday of the month, 2-3pm. See upcoming sessions here.
Email: Saskia Evans Perks, Lived Experience Research Ambassador, saskia.perks@slam.nhs.uk for more information.
Join one of our advisory groups:
Race and Ethnicity Advisory Group
Applications are open for adults wishing to join the NIHR Maudsley BRC Race and Ethnicity Advisory Group. As everyone has a race and ethnicity, applications are open to everyone. However, as this advisory group is to provide specific race perspectives and advise research studies, those behind the advisory group are particularly keen to make sure it includes members from as many different ethnic backgrounds and minoritized communities as possible. This diversity will enable the board to provide the most diverse and nuanced perspectives on the research studies leading to better research.
If you are interested in finding out more about this, please email Dr Faith Matcham at: Read-edi@kcl.ac.uk
Adolescent Mental Health Research Advisory Group
This group is for young people aged 12 to 17 who have used mental health services or have an interest in mental health research. One meeting is organised during every school holiday, giving participants the opportunity to make their views heard and make a difference for other young people. The session always includes a fun educational activity and lunch. Participants can bring parents or care coordinators if they prefer.
Potential members of the group, as well as researchers who want to get feedback from the group, should contact ado-advisorygroup@kcl.ac.uk
Young People’s Mental Health Advisory Group
The Young People’s Mental Health Advisory Group (@YPMHAG) is currently managed by SURE (Service User Research Enterprise) and the NIHR Maudsley BRC.
The group consists of 16 - 25 year olds with personal experience of having used mental health services or caring for someone who has. The group meet every six to eight weeks on a Saturday in central London.
We usually advise two or three researchers on their projects from a young person’s point of view during each meeting and also work on our own projects too to raise the importance of involving young people in mental health research.
If you are a researcher and would like to know more, please read our guide to accessing the Young People's Mental Health Advisory Group, which explains how to apply and how applications are processed. The group have also produced guidelines for researchers visiting them.
Service User Advisory Group (SUAG)
The NIHR Maudsley BRC Service User Advisory Group (SUAG) is a regular meeting of people with lived experience of mental illness, all of whom have an interest in mental health research. Researchers are invited to present their project / programmes to the group and get feedback. The group meets once every two months on Wednesday afternoons between 4.00PM and 5.30pm at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience in Denmark Hill, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF.
If you are interested in presenting to the group or becoming a member, please contact Jo Evans on SUAG@kcl.ac.uk.
FAST-R Service
FAST-R stands for Feasibility and Acceptability Support Team for Researchers. This means researchers send the FAST-R service documents to review and we respond with our feedback within seven working days. The FAST-R service receives a wide range of documents from researchers; recently these have included research proposals, study protocols, patient information sheets, consent forms, leaflets, posters and questionnaires.
If you are a service user or carer and would like to join the FAST-R team, please e-mail fast-r@kcl.ac.uk with your enquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you are a researcher and would like to know more, please read our guide to using the FAST-R service, which explains how to apply and how applications are processed.
Addiction Service User Research Group (SURG)
SURG is a collaboration between the Addictions Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and the Aurora Project which is a peer mentoring service for people who are drug and alcohol users in Lambeth.
SURG has 11 core group members, all drug and alcohol service users, who meet monthly to provide advice and support to those undertaking studies relating to addiction.
Data Linkage Service User and Carer Advisory Group
‘Data linkage’ means joining two or more independent databases that share a variable at an individual record level – for example, someone’s GP record and their hospital record will share a unique ‘NHS number’. The Data Linkage Service User and Carer Advisory Group is a regular meeting of people with lived experience of mental illness, all of whom have an interest in mental health research involving data linkage.
The group meets on a quarterly basis and researchers are invited to present their project, where they will receive feedback and advice from the group. If you are interested in becoming a member of the group and would like some further information, please contact Amelia Jewell (amelia.jewell@slam.nhs.uk).
Service User Research Enterprise: SURE
Members of the NIHR Maudsley BRC also link with the Service User Research Enterprise at King's.
Our strategy for patient and public involvement outlines our approach to involving people in shaping our research and development of our facilities and infrastructure. If you are a researcher and would like general advice on involving patients in your research, please see our Support for Researchers page.
