Meaning, strengths and flourishing following serious mental illness

Much of our research challenges the idea that good mental health outcomes should be understood primarily in terms of reducing symptoms or returning people to how they were before becoming unwell. We study how people experiencing serious mental health challenges can develop meaning, build on their strengths, experience positive transformation, and create fulfilling lives. We are also interested in understanding how mental health services can be structured to support such changes. Our work has particularly examined posttraumatic growth, personal recovery, generativity, and compassion, with the longer-term goal of developing mental health interventions and services that help create opportunities for people with mental health challenges to live full lives.

Example publication: Exploring barriers to compassionate acts in individuals with borderline personality disorder: a critical literature review

Socioecological resilience and mental health

People’s capacity to recover and flourish is shaped not only by their individual characteristics, but also by their relationships, communities, services and wider social environments. Our research takes a socioecological approach to resilience, examining how factors such as social connection, belonging, peer and family relationships, community participation and supportive mental health services can enable people to live well in the context of mental health challenges. Ultimately, we are interested in identifying and fostering the social and community conditions that enable people experiencing serious mental illness to build meaningful, connected and contributing lives.

Example publication: A longitudinal qualitative follow-up study of post-traumatic growth among service users who experienced positive change following a first episode of psychosis