The CHiMES Collaborative

A Creative Collaborative for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Policy & Practice * Underpinned by Methodologies and Critiques from Cultural Psychiatry and Health Inequalities Research * Testing and Evolving Eco-Social, Bio-Psycho-Social, and Syndemic Frameworks

CHiMES promotes and protects mental health through investigations of:

Cultural, Social & Geopolitical Influences on Mental Health
Health Inequalities, Multimorbidity & Ethnicity
Health Services & Cultural Competency
Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
Advancing Research Methods for Inclusive co-designed Policy & Practice

Our research adopts the following approaches.

Narrative, Ethnography & Qualitative Research
Experience-Near & Peer Research
Understanding & Reducing Health Inequalities
Epidemiology & Trials
Cultural Adaptation of Complex Interventions & Outcomes
Creative Arts, Socially Engaged Participatory & Digital Research
Service/Systems/Place Interventions and Evaluations
Race Ethics & Equity in Research

World Psychiatric Association, Collaborating Centre, Oxford. UK.

Current Projects

You can find out more about each of these projects by clicking on the heading

Co-PACT: funded by the NIHR to develop photovoice as a policy research tool and co-design systems to improves the experiences of those detained under the MHA and reduce ethnic inequalities of MHA use. (Led by Kam and Roisin)

ATTUNE: a national consortium of youth groups, academic, public sector, VCS and charity partners developing interdisciplinary research to co-design creative arts and digital mental health interventions for adverse childhood experiences; we use participatory arts, epidemiological, experience-near, and peer research methods. (Led by Kam and Eunice)

ORIGIN: builds on preliminary research conducted during the O-ACE study, in which an online cultural experience called Ways of Being was co-designed and tested for mental health in young people. Despite limited time and resources in developing Ways of Being, it was enthusiastically received by young people and reduced negative feelings when compared with a traditional museum website. (Led by Rebecca and Kam)

Synergi Collaborative Centre, funded by the Lankelly Chase Foundation, a five year initiative to establish an independent centre of excellence on ethnic inequalities, severe mental illness and multiple disadvantage. The programme undertakes place based systems interventions and evaluations, peer research and participatory action research; through these we improve knowledge, motivate and up-skill key cross-sectoral actors, and mobilise change through creative communications and service user narratives. (Led by Kam and Roisin)

INTREPID, funded by Barts and the London Charity, an exploration of the recognition and treatment of depression in ethically diverse renal dialysis patients, taking account of inflammation as a complicating feature.

FRAMERS: A global challenges research fund project. This study develops and tests family resiliency interventions based on integrating life-skills education, problem solving, and family focused therapies, with young people in India and Kenya. The collaborations includes local universities, schools, NGOs, and community organisations.