Partnership and Collaboration: Authentic Connections with Milena Wuerth
This episode featuring Milena Wuerth explores partnership and collaboration in mental health research. From the nuanced art of collaborative dynamics to navigating pushback and managing tensions, Milena unveils the intricacies of participatory research projects. We delve into academic collaborations through the lens of early career researchers, where kindness and authenticity are necessary. We also uncover the challenges of balancing professionalism with vulnerability and trust and discover the secrets to identifying, vetting, and collaborating with diverse organisations. Anna also shares her experiences in this insightful conversation, emphasising the significance of building long-term relationships with community organisations and advocating for institutional changes to sustain collaboration beyond project timelines.
Here are some resources:
Co-producing rapid research: Strengths and challenges from a lived experience perspective
Whiteness and the Race Equality Network: co-production in action
Podcast Guests
Milena Wuerth
Milena Wuerth is an early career researcher studying mental health and illness’s social and economic determinants, focusing on health disparities. As a project manager and research assistant, she has facilitated the coproduction of research outputs with community groups, peer practitioners, and experts-by-experience. She has helped bring meaning and colour to the research process through creative interventions, including podcasts, artistic exhibitions, and a documentary film.
Milena holds a BA in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She was recently awarded the UBEL DTP scholarship for a PhD investigating a novel approach to mental healthcare being trialled in the British NHS.
