The Mental Health Foundation, See Me and Glasgow Caledonian University are undertaking a ground breaking research project to better understand how people living with severe, complex and/or enduring mental illnesses experience stigma and discrimination.
Researchers would like to speak with people aged 18 and over to find out:
- What stigma and discrimination people have experienced and how often
- Where in their lives people have experienced it and to what extent
- What impact these experiences have had on their lives and behaviours
- How people experience self-stigma
- What needs to change to improve the lives of people experiencing complex mental illnesses
Research like this has never been carried out in Scotland before and will look to address some of the most pervasive and severe stigma and discrimination that people in Scotland with mental illnesses face.
The project is open to people in Scotland and who, within the last year, have experienced a severe, complex and/or enduring mental illness, or illnesses, including:
- Schizophrenia or other primary psychotic disorder
- Bipolar or related disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive or related disorder
- Disorder specifically associated with stress (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Dissociative disorder
- Feeding or eating disorder
- Personality disorder
- Severe and/or treatment-resistant depressive disorder
- Severe and/or treatment-resistant anxiety or fear-related disorder
Both people who have received a formal diagnosis as well as those who have not been diagnosed formally but believe they may be experiencing one or more of these mental illnesses are invited to take part.
If you would like to participate, you will be asked to read important information about the survey, give your consent to take part and fill in a short screening form. You will then be invited to complete a survey – either online, over the phone or via video call with one of the researchers. It should take around 40-50 minutes.
For more information, please head to the See Me website, or contact Jo Finlay: jfinlay@mentalhealth.org.uk
