Emotionally challenging research

Join Tina Skinner of the Researcher Wellbeing Project, funded by the UKRI Research Culture Fund, and equip yourself and/or your team with knowledge and tools essential for maintaining emotional wellbeing in research on emotionally challenging topics.

By participating in this webinar, you will:

• gain a deeper understanding of the potential impacts of emotionally challenging research,
• learn about effective individual, team and institutional supports to navigate these challenges,
• start to develop your own Researcher Wellbeing Plan,
• understanding how to undertake a risk assessment linked to mental health impacts,
• be equipped to start developing a strategic approach to researcher wellbeing on emotionally challenging topics in your team/institution.

The workshop introduces a practical toolkit, providing resources and guidance to support researchers, managers and institutions in managing the emotional aspects of their work and progressing towards a strategic approach to researcher wellbeing and emotionally challenging topics. It is is structured into three sessions.

The first session will explore the impacts of emotionally challenging research, presenting our findings on the symptoms experienced by researchers.

The second session will focus on coping mechanisms and interventions and will give you an opportunity to start using our resources and write your own Researcher Wellbeing Plan.

The third session introduces a set of tiered recommendations for institutional support, categorised into Bronze, Silver, and Gold standards, offering a phased approach to their implementation. We will then discuss where your institution fits in relation to these standards, and we will explore further one of the resources (e.g. we could spend more time on the Researcher Wellbeing Plans, or explore the guidance on risk assessment and mental health).