#27: Some Focussed Research

After doing some background reading into Action Research I realise that I am not managing to gather a lot of useful data. I could also do with showing the project to some more professional stakeholders to really test the virtues and at the flaws of the idea. So I took everything down to the woods last week and set up The Library Of Meaning. I managed to make contact with several people in the area who work in various community interest companies that use arts based practises to improve wellbeing. I also invited two health care professionals among others.

I decided to revert back to my original research question for this intervention, as my previous question about helping people to feel uncomfortable feelings was bringing me too close to people’s trauma and I felt unqualified to handle it.

I hoped the quiet woodland setting would give me a chance to test the booth that I was unable to use in Hastings. And I planned to conduct one-on-one interviews with every participant after they finished the exercise in order to record some useful feedback. The participants were also invited expressly for their professional criticism so I was hoping to get some honest feedback that would expose any flaws that I might be overlooking.

INTERVENTION: Library Of Meaning 4, Spinney Hollow, 18th April 2022
How can I help people to find meaning in their lives in order to improve their mental wellbeing?

Method
Interactive self-led journey through a collection of archetypes, participant chooses three that represent their past, present and future. They then take these archetypes into a small booth and sit at a unit with two illuminated stained glass windows, they are prompted to write down what each archetype means and how it feels for them.

Participants
10 invitees:
Jennifer Walmsley and Kate Hadley – Directors of BearFace Theatre CIC, an applied theatre company specialising in working in the criminal justice system.

Keith McAllister- Managing director of a community interest company which helps 18-24 year olds gain employment in the hospitality industry.

Craig Lockwood – Head of Youth for Soco Music Project which uses music to help the self development of young people. 

Julie Wear – GP specialising in professional support.

Alan Wear – A doctor who treats people with severe mental illness.

Harriet Riddel – A textile performance artist who uses a pedal powered sewing machine to sketch pictures and create one-on-one portraits.

Kate Mellors – A voice teacher who uses singing to aid personal development, working with women leaving the criminal justice system, adults in recovery from addiction and adults with learning difficulties.

Becca – A trainee therapist

Phillipe Mazaz –  A Chief Information Officer working in Life Sciences

I went in prepared: I had recently started to archive all the data I have gathered so far and completed a document that set out the key values of my research. This meant that I knew what I should be looking for in my participants and I was able to develop a set of questions that provided a focus for my enquiry.

Key values of the study
– To help people to process their experiences using their own agency
– Meaning Making: To help people find a redemptive “living meaning” in their experiences through the use of symbols
– To provide a numinous or transformative experience that has a positive impact on mental wellbeing.

Key questions to guide data collection

• Are people finding their meaning? How useful is it? What are the long term effects on their mental wellbeing?
• Is the use of archetypes effective?
• Does the experience feel numinous? Does it have any transformational effects?
• How could it be improved? How is it not working?

My complete data archive can be viewed here:

I managed to gather some really useful feedback, some of the most focussed reflection and criticism I have received so far. These findings, along with more general reflections from all my interventions to date can be summarised below:

• The exercise is generally effective
  Many participants commented on the efficacy of the process, it helped them to find meaning. Alan Wear commented on its potential as an accompaniment to professional therapy: “Cognitive therapy is effective but it doesn’t work if someone is not prepared to examine the mental process that lead them to where they are. And this is a good way of doing that.”
• The use of archetypes is effective
  The use of symbols seems to be very potent for many of the participants: “I was surprised how easily some of the archetypes jumped out, how familiar and resonant the explanations felt, how deep and mournful the shadow elements feel.” – Anonymous.
  However one stakeholder had concerns about the terminology: “Archetypes is quite a big word, a lot of people don’t know what that is, it’s quite an academic word. It takes quite a lot of literacy to understand.” – Kate Hadley
• The booth is effective
  The booth and the stained glass windows appear to be very useful in helping people to connect and providing a numinous atmosphere: “The doors and the glass are gorgeous, when I was in the booth I really connected.” – Jennifer Walmsley.
• Some participants find it to be a numinous experience
  “I instantly felt reflective with a sense that this is a special place. I feel cared for, that my experience is important, and in return I want to take care in reading and taking in the meaning in the cards.” – Jennifer Eales
  “ I think the idea of it being a spiritual experience but not connected to religion really appeals to people. Especially people who have been through some shit in their life.  I can imagine this being a really useful way to unlock talking about that.” – Kate Mellors
• There is some evidence that it has an effect on mental wellbeing over time
  Some of the participants that were contacted one or two weeks after the exercise said they they had been using their chosen archetypes as tools to check in with themselves and be reminded of their experience: “I put the little book on my shelf with my other special things and seeing it regularly has actually grounded me with better sense of self.” – Craig Lockwood.
  “I interact with it regularly, it’s comforting. It represents me, and it feels sacred in some way.” – Karen
• The amount of words used could be problematic
  Most of the professional stakeholders commented that the amount of literature that is involved could be a problem for some people and exclude them from the process: “If books are not your friend, if you can’t read or have dyslexia, this would be quite hard.” – Kate Mellors
• The amount of self reflection involved could be too advanced
  Most of the professional stakeholders also commented that many people would probably find it difficult to engage in this level of introspection: “If I was brand new to this [kind of reflection] it would be pretty overwhelming.” – Keith McAllister. But it would suit people who were a little way in to their journey of self discovery.
• The lack of aftercare
  Several professional stakeholders also mentioned that there would need to be more done to help guide people through the process and support them after:  “This could churn up quite a lot, where’s the debriefing? What’s the safety net? How are you going to safely send people away?” – Julie Wear

Reflections for the next phase

I feel that this may be the last time I test The Library in this format. I’ve now gathered a good amount of data and I think I can use it to draw some conclusions that I need to reflect on before I decide what avenue to take it down.
I think the idea has promise, the aesthetic is appealing and the use of archetypes is an effective tool that really connects with people. But the exercise isn’t accessible for everyone, and I need to decide if and how I want to change that.
I am also questioning whether I want to continue down the avenue of encouraging people to self-reflect quite so directly, I am not qualified to deal with people’s trauma, and trauma is something I will find if I go looking for it. Jennifer Walmsley identified a trend that she is coming across in her profession called ‘Trauma Poking’ or ‘Trauma Tourism’, where people use the trauma of others to provide themselves with content. I definitely want to avoid that.
However I still feel strongly about the ‘sacred’ or ‘numinous’ nature of the project and I would like to pursue that further.
Either way I think that my research question is going to have to change again, but I am conscious that I am about to start my final unit and I’m coming towards the home stretch of the course. I need to choose a research question and stick with it in order to have enough time to complete multiple rounds of interventions in order to properly test my solution and gather useful data.
I plan on taking one or two weeks to reflect and read before I formulate a plan for the next three months.