Working together: Service Users and researchers in Psychosis research

Abstract

This paper describes how Service Users and researchers worked together to develop a measure of recovery from psychosis “the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery from psychosis” (QPR, Neil et al., 2009), and illustrates this experience from both perspectives. The obstacles faced and how these were overcome are described. It was found that it was possible for Service Users and non-Service Users to work collaboratively, that there were unique contributions from each and a sharing of areas of expertise, for example, research knowledge and expertise by experience. This paper highlights advantages of working collaboratively. It is hoped that sharing these experiences will encourage other researchers and Service Users to embrace this way of working.