Community mental health

Converge at York St John University offers people with mental health issues access to free courses. It provides a model with which to address issues of social justice and equality of access within education and mental health services.

Founded by Professor Nick Rowe, Converge is a longitudinal practice-research project which uses action research, peer research, creative methods and reflective practice to explore the impact of offering educational opportunities to adults who experience mental ill health within a university context. It also hosts the Converge Evaluation and Research Team (CERT), a group of researchers with lived experience of mental health difficulties.

Converge has been funded by Research England and the Office for Students to carry out an evaluation over 2020-2022 of the programme's impact on its participants and partners. For further information email cep@yorksj.ac.uk.

Most men do not seek help when their mental health worsens, as they often feel ashamed, 'weak' and stigmatised. There are few tailored mental health support projects for men who value activity, community and camaraderie over talking to mental health professionals. Menfulness is a York based mental health and suicide prevention charity specialising in working with such men.

Dr Gary Shepherd and Research Assistant Holly Murphy teamed up with Menfulness to conduct a wide-ranging evaluation of their service. The team interviewed and surveyed over 300 Menfulness members and volunteers and compared the charity to The Samaritans best practice recommendations. The research demonstrated the excellent work Menfulness do in helping to reduce depression, isolation and suicidal thinking. The project culminated in a one-day dissemination conference and a full evaluation report which can be found here: Menfulness Evaluation of Service Report (PDF, 1.5MB).

This research explored the processes and efficacy of York in Recovery’s peer-support and peer-led addiction recovery group in York. Amongst its findings, the research described how YIR members see the experience as a community based on friendship, rather than a service marked by professional distance. The research was conducted by the Converge Evaluation Research Team through an ISJ Community Research Grant. You can read the project report here: York in Recovery (PDF, 1.4 MB).