Complex quests towards calm - a co-produced journey

This study explores the influence of the process of co-production in peer-led, self-help groups on mental health. People working in the mental health realm seem to know what co-production is all about; people receiving treatment in the mental health realm do not. Co-production has become something people and organisations say ‘was being done’ when it may not actually have been. This study explores the experiences of those people, generating new knowledge and the development of a conceptual framework to support the practice of group focussed co-production. This addresses a gap in existing knowledge of co-production in a group situation. To enable the study, a new co-production group was established. The volunteers, termed ‘collaborators’ needed for the co-production group were recruited. The co-production group ran for six months after which a series of unstructured interviews enabled data to be gathered. Interview data was analysed using an adapted narrative/thematic method (Floersch, Longhofer, Kranke, & Townsend, 2010) where the thematic (Braun & Clarke, 2006) element was exchanged for framework analysis (Spencer, Ritchie, & O'Connor, 2003). Six overarching themes emerged which included: being individuals; mental health; professionalism; bad stuff; being in a group; personal development. The need for, role and training of professionals in co-production will change. Professionals in co-production situations in future will find themselves as facilitators and guides instead of being deliverers of service. Like-minded people who experience mental health problems were keen to come together to take control over their mental health by co-producing services with peers experiencing similar difficulties. The study illuminated the limited availability of work on co-production, how literature of co-production is in its infancy. The subjects for future study include how ‘Psy’ professions work in co-produced situations and how the process acts on perceptions of mental health