EMPOWER on tour

EMPOWER Study

The EMPOWER study involves an international partnership, working between Scotland and Australia. Three members of the team have been fortunate enough to visit Melbourne where research on EMPOWER is underway. Trial Manager, Simon Bradstreet and PhD student Stephanie Allan provide a photo update on the antipodean trip to date which they have taken with Chief Investigator Andrew Gumley.

Australian Catholic University Melbourne
Day one in Melbourne involved spending time with colleagues. Simon Bradstreet and Stephanie Allan visited Emma Morton at her base at Australian Catholic University where we reviewed data and had the pleasure of our first face to face meeting! Meanwhile Andrew Gumley met with co-investigator Associate Professor John Farhall at Latrobe University.
During the trip Andrew, Steph and Simon had the pleasure of meeting with the two community mental health services involved in the EMPOWER study in Melbourne. During visits to Bell Street and Hotham Street services we learned about staff team experiences of being involved in EMPOWER. We also spoke about how the study and services differed between Glasgow and Melbourne.
Andrew Gumley and Simon Bradstreet getting to grips with an alternate reality during a fascinating lab visit to Swinburne University with Associate Professor Neil Thomas and his colleagues. We heard about exciting work on recovery education and narratives, the role of peer support in digital interventions and virtual reality supported mindfulness training.
We were delighted to visit the stunning new home of Orygen (National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health). The surroundings were matched by the amazing work going on here across youth mental health. We met with Professor Mario Alvarez-Jimenez and his colleagues. The team there have been working over nine years to develop a research moderated online social supports for young people affected by a variety of mental health problems. Inspiring stuff for team EMPOWER!
EMPOWER collaborators sharing a post planning moment. From left to right: Simon Bradstreet, John Gleeson, John Farhall, Andrew Gumley, Emma Morton and Emily Castagnini.

Funding for this study trip for Stephanie Allan was provided by Cremore Research Fund. Simon Bradstreet’s funding was provided via University of Glasgow’s BBSRC Flexible Talent Mobility Account.