Assistant Professor in Lived Experience Research at Durham University

The Institute for Medical Humanities and Department of Psychology at Durham University seek to appoint a talented researcher and scholar to the role of Assistant Professor in Lived Experience Research to lead on research with the Recovery College Collective (ReCoCo) in Newcastle. We welcome applications from those with research interests in the broad field of mental health and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants with lived experience and/or expertise in participatory research methods and interdisciplinary approaches.

In this context, Lived Experience is defined as someone with experience of life-impacting mental health difficulties and/or people who have endured and survived distress caused by trauma. This may include experience of facing poverty, neglect, abuse, racial trauma and other forms of marginalisation, prejudice or discrimination.

This post is part of an exciting expansion of medical humanities at Durham funded by Wellcome. The Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities (DRP-MH) hosted by the Institute for Medical Humanities (IMH) at Durham University aims to empower health and wellbeing researchers from different sectors and disciplines to co-develop new and experimental approaches to tackling health challenges, including those arising at the intersections of mental health and health inequalities. The Platform will create space for experimentation and intellectual risk-taking, support networks globally, and revolutionize the research capacity of the field of Medical Humanities. It will enable large-scale collaborations with community, creative, health and voluntary sector organisations, and involve over 200,000 global academics and lived experience researchers through international partnerships with leading global Universities.

Platform researchers come from a wide range of disciplines including Literary Studies, Psychology, Philosophy, History, Sport and Exercise Science, Education and Sociology. The DRP-MH supports the Institute’s vision to improve human health through research on hidden experience.

The post holder will be responsible for leading research at the “Wellspring” Site at ReCoCo, one of three collaborative sites hosted by the Platform. The Wellspring hosts new collaborations between Durham researchers and ReCoCo with a focus on mental health and health inequalities. As the lead researcher for the Site, the postholder will be responsible for developing a collaborative and co-produced research programme at ReCoCo, facilitating new projects with other Platform team members and ReCoCo staff and students, and supporting collaborations with other researchers and stakeholders.

Applicants must demonstrate excellence in the field of mental health and lived experience research, with the ability to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University. The role offers an exciting opportunity to make an important contribution to the development of research and methodological innovation within the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities, while allowing you excellent opportunities to develop your career in an exciting and progressive institution.