The FAQs below are designed to answer any questions you may have about attending the workshops. If you have other questions which aren’t answered here, let us know by emailing a.d.skuse[at]reading.ac.uk and we’ll reply as oon as we can.
What is the purpose of the workshop?
The purpose of these workshops is to think as a group about how modern thinking about of self-injury might be similar to or different from thinking about self-injury in the seventeenth century.
Who is organising the workshops?
The workshops are organised by Dr. Alanna Skuse from the Department of English at the University of Reading and Associate Professor Tina O’Connell from the Department of Art at the University of Reading. The workshops are funded by a charitable organisation called The Wellcome Trust.
Who has reviewed the workshops?
The plans for the workshops have been reviewed and given a favourable opinion by the University of Reading Research Ethics Committee.
Why have I been invited?
You have been invited because you have knowledge of self-harm. This could be from personal experience, from professional experience, or because you have loved ones with experience of self-harm.
Do I have to take part?
No. You do not have to agree to take part in the workshops and if you do agree, you can change your mind at any time, for any reason.
What will happen if I decide to take part?
A few days before each workshop we will send you an email telling you what we will be doing, so there are no surprises.
At the beginning of each workshop there will be a few minutes for you to get a drink and snack from the refreshments provided. Then the workshop leaders will introduce themselves and talk for five minutes about a historical way of viewing self-injury, and how this raises questions about how we view self-injury today. Then the nurse practitioner will explain what you can do if you feel upset at any point during the workshops and how they can help. Then members of ArtLab staff will explain to you how the art equipment works and help you to get started on your artworks. You should ideally make your artworks in small groups, but if you prefer to work alone, that’s ok.
While you are making the artworks, the project leaders will join in. After an hour, we will show our artworks to the group and talk about them. If you don’t want to show or talk about your artwork, or if you prefer that a member of ArtLab staff tells the group about your artwork, that’s ok. If you want to contribute but not in front of others, you can post your thoughts in an anonymous online tool after the workshop.
The nurse practitioner will talk about what you can do if you feel upset after the workshop, and there will be another opportunity to chat over tea and coffee before you go home.
What should I consider?
We have taken care to make sure that the workshops do not cause distress or make people want to self-injure. However, if you feel upset by the workshops, there are people available to help you. The nurse practitioner is here to talk in confidence, and they can also help you to find support after the workshops. We’ll also send you an email after each workshop with details of where you can go to find support.
Remember that you can take time out at any time in a separate room, without having to give a reason. You are also free to leave the workshops at any time.
The aim of the workshops is to think generally about social attitudes to self-injury, so you do not need to share your personal history of self-injury. We’d also advise that you don’t put identifying information such as your name or picture into your artworks.
Our aim for the workshops is to keep the same group of people for all 5 sessions, so that we have a chance to think through the project’s questions together. We understand that sometimes you might not be able to make a particular session, and we ask that you give us as much notice as possible if this is the case.
What can I do if I feel upset during the workshops?
We have put in place a number of measures to help you if you feel upset by any of the discussions which happen in these workshops. These will be fully explained to you at the start of the workshop and there will also be an information sheet for you to take away. During the workshop if you feel upset or overwhelmed you can take time out in a separate room and/or talk to the nurse practitioner who is here to help you.
What happens to my artwork after the workshops? Can I take it home?
If you give us permission, we would like to keep the artworks from the workshops so that we can take high-quality photographs of them to use in an online exhibition about self-injury.
This online exhibition will be made available to NHS trusts and mental health charities to help them understand more about self-injury.
If you would like to have your artworks after we have photographed them, we can post them to you. If you worked in a group and more than one person wants the artworks, we will try to divide them up fairly.
Will I be reimbursed for taking part?
We will pay for the travel expenses for you to get to and from the workshops. Examples of this would be bus or train travel, or a short taxi journey if you’re unable to use the bus or train. To claim this, you should keep your ticket or receipt and we will show you how to fill out a form to claim the money back. If you have difficulty filling in the form for any reason, we can help.
If the upfront cost of your ticket is an obstacle to you attending the workshops, let us know and we will arrange to buy your ticket.
The drinks and snacks provided at the workshop are free.
What happens to my data from the project?
Information about you that we gather as part of the project will be held securely with access limited to those involved in the project. This means that details such as your name or address will not appear in the online exhibition or any other publicly available materials.
The online exhibition containing artworks from the workshops and other data such as transcripts of interviews from the project will be put online within 6 months of the end of the study and remain online for up to 2 years.
The artworks that feature in the exhibition, with relevant supporting documentation, will also be deposited in the University Research Data Archive, where they will be stored indefinitely.