I’m a Public Contributor with Lived Experience and have been participating, involved and engaged with the award-winning Mutual Support for Mental Health in Research (MS4MH-R) group as part of the Centre for Mental Health and Safety in the University of Manchester, the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NIHR GM PSRC) and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health Services (NCISH). There have been lots of opportunities for various PPIE activities offered to our group members and I’ve been able to develop my own skills around the research process.

A couple of months ago I received an intriguing call from Leah Quinlivan, one of the NIHR GM PSRC team. She suggested I might like to accompany her and another of our MS4MH-R Public Contributors, Dan Stears, to the Republic of Ireland to be keynote speakers at a one day event on PPIE in Mental Health organised by an Irish organisation that is similar to NCISH – the National Suicide Research Foundation. We were invited to talk about Manchester’s world-leading PPIE with people experienced in suicide and self-harm.  I was blown away by this opportunity- I’d done several online talks about my PPIE experiences on zoom and Teams during the pandemic and I’d also done some face-to-face talks more recently to groups of mental health staff, researchers and funders. I felt my confidence had grown and immediately accepted Leah’s invitation.

Our flights and hotel accommodation were all arranged by the NSRF team based at University of Cork and we were delighted to arrive at our super hotel right next to the University so we could enjoy a scenic walk to the venue on the big day. The three of us knew each other well as we’d worked together for years with MS4MH-R. We worked out our presentations to cover important aspects of PPIE, prepared our slides and had a last-minute run through over dinner the night before. My presentation was about how it feels to experience excellent PPIE as a Public Contributor with Lived Experience and the unique and personalised approaches taken by the Manchester researchers.

After a hearty full Irish breakfast, we headed off to the venue on the pretty University of Cork campus. The weather was the most untypical (for Ireland) brilliant sunshine. We were welcomed by the NSRF organisers and made to feel at home. It’s a good feeling being among people who care deeply about improving service provision in this awkward and distressing area of research: there were emotional connections and heartfelt responses which really affected me and made me feel comfortable. Leah spoke first and introduced Dan and me. Our presentations went without a hitch and were well-received by the audience. I hoped I’d been able to do a good job!

It was great to be keynote speakers as it meant I could relax and enjoy the rest of the day’s presentations. Like ‘our’ NCISH/NIHR GM PSRC researchers, the NSRF researchers are committed to challenging stigma and developing understanding of the complex bio-psycho-social aspects of self-harm and suicide. I really enjoyed a sociologist’s perspective on power, politics and injustice in PPIE and a look at the ‘provocation’ of peer-led research and the constraints on student education. I noted down some excellent further reading. 

I was moved to hear about Ireland as a site of inter-generational trauma and how bringing in non-Western models of understanding of mental illness and different research methods such as photovoice, a qualitative research method used in community-based participatory research that uses participants photographs and interpretations to express experiences in ways which can open dialogues with other ‘knowledge systems’.

After a working lunch we heard from Seeking Safety Ireland, an impressive inclusive trauma-informed approach to coping with trauma and/or addiction. By using peer-support and peer researchers, some really valuable community engagement and empowerment alongside recovery and healing had been possible. Their dynamic group had just been awarded a government-funded contract to continue and extend their excellent work from Roscommon to other areas.

I was lucky to meet and talk with some inspiring and wonderful researchers through the day. I came away with new contacts, new perspectives and renewed enthusiasm for my own PPIE experiences. What a pleasure too to spend a glorious 24 hours in the lush green Irish landscape and to be able to share some ‘downtime’ with Leah and Dan. I owe an enormous ‘thankyou’ to Leah and the NSRF team at University of Cork.

This blog was written by Liz Monaghan / Public and Community Involvement and Engagement member for Preventing suicide and self-harm. Click here to find out more about our Preventing Suicide and Self-harm research theme.

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