September 2021 Newsletter
We are very excited to announce that the first workshop of the study has now been conducted in Leeds. Co-PACT’s first group of participants is now in the process of capturing their experiences of detainment under the Mental Health Act with the disposable cameras given to them at the introductory workshop; the research team have received several completed cameras back in the post and will be processing these images in preparation for discussion at the second workshop, which will be taking place in the upcoming weeks. We would also like to commend the hard work of the staff from the local trust as they were instrumental to the introductory workshop’s success.
As the Leeds site continues to recruit and facilitate the second and third workshops, five sites are also actively recruiting as preparations are being made for their introductory workshops to take place.
Further, dates have now been set for the online staff Photovoice workshops: the introductory staff Photovoice workshop will take place on Thursday, the 11th of November and the second workshop will take place on Thursday, the 25th of November. We are still recruiting staff members for these workshops involving professionals who have been involved in using the Mental Health Act to detain someone. Examples of staff/professionals include (but are not restricted to) mental health nurses, psychiatrists, and relevant police officers. If you know of anyone who you think would be eligible and would like to take part, or know of any groups we can present to for recruitment, please send an e-mail to Dr. Clair Dempsey, the post-doctoral researcher on the project, at clair.dempsey@psych.ox.ac.uk.
A member of our research team will also be holding a weekly Zoom drop-in session from 13:00-13:30 PM BST every Thursday; this session is aimed at anyone who is either already involved in the project or who wishes to be (including but not limited to, service users, mental health nurses, psychiatrists and academics). If you are interested to attend this online session, please click this Zoom link at the aforementioned time.
Finally, the postponed webinar for the The CHiMES Collaborative–the Co-PACT study research group–will be taking place on Thursday, 11thof November from 12:30-13:30 PM BST. This session will feature a presentation about Photovoice by an expert in the field, alongside an opportunity for further discussion. More information about the event will be sent out in the upcoming weeks.
As always, please feel free to send us an e-mail with any questions or queries, and to keep up with the study’s progress via our Twitter feed at @co_pact for updates between now and the next newsletter issue at the end of October.