Birmingham Network for Phenomenology and Mental Health Launches Successfully with Inaugural Workshop

From left to right: network leads Francesca Brencio and Matthew Broome, and research fellow Jodie Russell at the launch event

The Birmingham Network for Phenomenology and Mental Health celebrated a successful launch with its first workshop, "Exploring Lived Experiences in Mental Health," held on September 3rd at The Studio in Birmingham city centre. The event attracted nearly 40 participants, including both in-person and remote attendees, demonstrating strong interest in interdisciplinary mental health research, both in the region and abroad.

Led by Professor Matthew Broome and Dr Francesca Brencio, this innovative network brings together researchers from across the University of Birmingham working at the intersection of phenomenology, linguistics, AI, computational psychiatry, and mental healthcare practice. The network's mission is to enhance understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders by bridging academic research with practitioner knowledge and lived expertise.

The launch workshop specifically targeted PhD students and early career researchers from across the Midlands, fostering the next generation of scholars who will shape the future of phenomenology and mental health research. Following opening remarks by Professor Matthew Broome and Dr Jodie Russell, who stressed the value of lived experience to grounding phenomenological approaches to mental health, and the importance of fostering early career researchers in this area, five emerging researchers presented their work: Haily Merritt (Northeastern University London), Sally Latham (Open University), Christina Christou (University of Birmingham), Seiara Imanova (University of Birmingham), Michael John Norton (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of Birmingham). Last talk was delivered by Paul Woolnough (Research Strategy & Development Partner, IAS Strategic Lead, University of Birmingham) who offered insights on research grant opportunities. This was followed by a career journey workshop where attendees shared the various routes they took to get to their current academic position as well as thoughts, aspirations and advice for the future. Dr. Francesca Brencio then delivered the closing remarks, highlighting how phenomenology serves as a crucial bridge in mental health research, offering practitioners and scholars alike a powerful qualitative lens for understanding lived experiences of mental health experiences.

This successful inaugural event marks the beginning of an ambitious year-long programme funded by the Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) Accelerator Network+ scheme, running from March 2025 to March 2026. Three more workshops will follow over the coming months. November 5th will feature Psychedelics, Phenomenology, & Mental Health, followed by Metaphorical Framings of Emotional Experiences in Mental Health: Linguistic Analyses with and without the use of AI in January, and The Phenomenology across the Lifespan between February and March. The network's activities will conclude with an international conference hosted at the University of Birmingham in March. 

Beyond these events, we are also launching an online reading group on Simone de Beauvoir’s Old Age starting in October.

The network's interdisciplinary approach promises to generate fresh perspectives on mental health research by combining phenomenological insights with cutting-edge computational approaches and real-world clinical expertise.

The strong attendance and engagement at the launch workshop signals the growing recognition of phenomenology's vital contribution to understanding mental health experiences and developing more effective, person-centred approaches to psychiatric care.

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