Question: What do you normally talk about with doctors and patients?

Emily Mattacola answered on 14 Nov 2019:

Lots of the work I do with doctors is around how we can embed better psychological support in their service. So for example, that might be how we can make sure they communicate well with their patients, or how we can ensure patients are getting access to psychological services. We have to work with doctors to make sure what we’re proposing is realistic, as the NHS is really stretched, as is doctors’ time, so if we’re designing things that will make their lives harder they’re just not going to use them! That means its really important that we include them in our research.
With patients, I talk to them about a lot of things – everything from asking them to be participants in studies, through to working with them to design psychological support programmes for the health conditions they live with. Much like doctors, it’s really important to include the perspectives of the people who will be using our services in what we’re doing.