We need expert input from parents/carers to plan research aiming to improve support.
We are looking for parents/carers of young people who are or who have previously self-harmed (aged 11-18 at the time of self-harm). We worked with parents/carers to make a web-based resource that has information, videos, practical advice, and activities about supporting your young person and looking after yourself. We now want to see if it is possible to do a clinical trial to see if this intervention helps parents/carers. This means we need do research that focuses on things like whether parents/carers sign-up to try the resource, and how many stay in the study for long enough to complete the questionnaires. We are asking for your help to design that study.
We would like you to join the lead researcher, Dr Faith Martin, for a chat or to take part in a one hour discussion group online. We will ask you to talk about parents/carers needs and things that make it easier/harder for them to access support for themselves. We will talk about some of our ideas and ask for your views. You do not have to share your own story and if you prefer you can talk generally based on your experience and that of other people who know in this situation. You do not need to have any specialist knowledge about research or anything else – just your experience. We will provide either a thank-you voucher or payment for your time.
If you’re interested in participating, please email Faith to arrange a time to talk, that suits you – [email protected]. If it helps, copy and paste this text “Dear Faith, I’m interested in talking with you about the research plans for support for parents/carers. Please contact me at this email address to arrange to talk.” If you want, please add particular times that work well for you. Faith will not share your email address with anyone else and will not contact you for any other reason.
Who is doing this work?
Faith is a Clinical Psychologist working in the NHS and a researcher working in the School of Psychology at Cardiff University. She has previously worked with young people and their families in relation to mental and physical health. She has been working on support for parents/carers of young people with mental health problems for the last couple of years.