INSiGHTS is about finding innovative and inclusive ways to work with young people, families and communities. It aims to focus on the experiences of people taking part in research and work collaboratively to develop better research processes and methods.
Our Vision
Most mental health problems start in childhood or adolescence and their incidence in children and young people is increasing. We also know that mental health issues are experienced differently and can be even more challenging when someone is facing discrimination based on identity or where and how you live, as well tough financial circumstances.
We are seeking to create an understanding in collaboration with young people, families and communities to develop better research processes and methods.
We have been focusing on developing methods to listen to marginalised young people. Marginalised can mean young people who are socially, economically and educationally excluded in society – this could be because of discrimination or poverty, but being left out or overlooked can be in other ways too. We’ve been looking into the different approaches that other researchers have used to involve marginalised young people, so that we can learn from these experiences too. This has involved looking at the existing literature or research that has been carried out in this area as well as examining different processes of involvement, like ‘co-production.’
Who We Are
We are a team of researchers from the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and Applied Health Studies and Institute of Mental Health at the University of Birmingham. Our expertise is based on interdisciplinary approaches in mental health and researching young people, families and communities.
Our Background
INSiGHTS is part of a wider project called Mental Health in Development (MHID). MHID aims to deliver targeted, effective and accessible mental health interventions to meet the needs of diverse children and young people (aged 0-18 years). They are doing this through a range of projects which are developing infrastructure, research capacity, and collaborations across institutions and sectors.
You might be interested in these other MHID projects:
- AnDY (Anxiety and Depression in Young people) Research Clinic Oxford: a clinic embedded in CAMHS focused on assessing and treating young people for anxiety, OCD and depression disorders, and undertaking research into the development, maintenance and treatment of such disorders.
- Supporting Early Minds Research Network: a research network bringing together researchers, services, and families to develop a research agenda focused on more effective interventions to support social, emotional and cognitive development in under 5s.
- Adaptive Innovative Measurements (AIM): co-designing tools to identify and modify mechanisms that underpin the onset and persistence of common mental health problems among children and young people, and developing an online platform to host a repository of measures for researchers.
- WISDOM: The WISDOM Research Network brings together primary and secondary schools in England with academic researchers. Working together, we enable high quality mental health research that meets the diverse needs of school communities.
MHID is made up of a collaboration of teams and partners from the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Liverpool, Oxford Brookes and York, and the Oxford Health, Berkshire Healthcare and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trusts.
Funding
