Project 1 Reducing stigma by improving knowledge about psychosis among young people

Research Theme Reducing stigma about psychosis through the Arts

A mixed methods project to develop and explore the use of animations as a psycho-educational tool to reduce stigma about hallucinations and delusions among young people

This PhD project is exploring the use of creative artistic interventions, such as animations, as a way of improving knowledge and reducing stigma about psychosis among youth. To begin, the project will examine existing literature on the use of animation in health and mental health promotion.

After that, we will gather first-person accounts of hallucinations and delusions. We will use these first-person accounts to develop novel psychoeducational animations that capture lived experiences of hallucinations and delusions. We will then work with young people from SpunOut.ie and our partners in the animation department of the Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT) to co-create the animations. These will then be launched and data will be collected on the reach of the animations.

For the final stage of this study, we will examine the impact of adding the animations we have created to a teaching programme about mental illness on stigma in young people. This will include an examination of how the animations influenced young people’s views of hallucinations, delusions and psychosis.

This is an exciting and creative project that combines mixed methods research and use of the Arts to translate qualitative data into meaningful and accessible outputs. The project team has experience in mixed methods research and past experience of animation creation using qualitative data on young people’s mental health.