The Reading Resilience Network is made up of a diverse network of people from academia, clinical and third sector services, and the public, working to promote translational and sustainable solutions to mental health and wellbeing challenges.
Mental illness is one of the biggest global health challenges, with depression currently being the leading cause of disability. Locally, 1 in 4 people in England will experience at least one form of mental health problem throughout their life.
Early life experiences in youth, particularly during adolescence, are known to play an important role in the development of mental health problems. At the same time, youth is also a period of flexibility, where our brain and body are able to change and learn. Therefore, this is a key time to provide young people with effective resilience building programmes so that they can better cope with mental health challenges before they become harder to treat later on in life.
The Reading Resilience Network aims to bring together a collaborative effort to:
Advance health and wellbeing with an emphasis on building resilience both on individual and social-environmental levels;
Build on evidence-based approaches;
Co-produce interventions and strategies through genuine partnerships between cross-disciplinary researchers, clinicians, practitioners, policy influencers, service providers/ commissioners, service users and members of the public.
How will we achieve these goals?
We are continuously expanding our diverse network by inviting anyone who has professional or personal interests related to the network, such as researchers, practitioners, stakeholders and service users. Expertise by research, practice, and lived experiences are equally valued in this network. We will provide members of our network access to regular communications and opportunities to attend our collaborative workshops and other events. We aim to provide regular and diverse opportunities for the network to connect and work together to develop ideas for research and practice.
To drive the network forward and ensure that our activities are goal-directed, the network is headed by a steering group, consisting of representatives from key research groups, NHS, third sector and other healthcare, educational and support services, and relevant service users groups.
What are the benefits for members?
Researchers will be able to seek support with clinical research development, for example, advice for NHS research governance. They can seek non-academic collaborators and service user groups to co-design research, receive feedback, recruit participants, distribute findings from research, and maximise the impact of their research through applying evidence based strategies to the real world and/or influencing real life practice.
Practitioners from NHS and third sector organisations will be able to obtain regular updates on scientific findings and source scientific advice. They can also share their observations on current challenges on health and wellbeing, as well as how services are delivered to the public. Additionally, clinical teams and practitioners can invite academic partners to help create solutions, and play an active role both as a research consumer and co-producer in research, thus influencing the direction and application of research that would have a direct impact on their day-to-day practice.
Service providers/commissioners and policy influencers will have regular contact and open discussions with frontline researchers, practitioners and members of the public regarding the needs and challenges faced by service users, professional groups, and the wider community.
Service users and the public will be empowered by having their voice represented in the ongoing discussion around mental health and become an active partner in decision making. The increased access to and awareness of research findings will also enhance an individuals’ ability to make informed decision about their own health and healthcare choices.
How to join the Network?
If you are interested in joining this collaborative effort, you can sign up to our mailing list to be kept up to date about our developments and events. You can also email us (rrn@reading.ac.uk) if you have an idea that you would like our help with.