We've collated some open-access resources that may be useful for those working in emotionally demanding research. Click the links below to view more
The SPRINT Project guidelines provide practical advice for supporting researchers mental health when working on emotionally demanding topics.
They encourage institutions, supervisors, funders, and conference organisers to create a psychologically informed research culture by setting clear boundaries, ensuring manageable workloads, offering regular check-ins or debriefs, and providing access to peer support or supervision. The guidelines also promote sensitive handling of difficult material in conferences and research settings and emphasise flexibility and reflexivity so that support can be adapted to different projects and individuals.
The RES-WELL toolkit from University College London provides practical guidance to help protect the mental health and wellbeing of researchers working on emotionally challenging or sensitive topics. It offers advice for researchers, supervisors, institutions, and funders on recognising stress and secondary trauma, building supportive project structures, and embedding wellbeing considerations into research design and management. The
The Researcher Wellbeing Project (RWP) at the University of Bath explored how doing emotionally challenging or trauma-related research can affect researchers’ mental wellbeing.
They used those findings to create practical tools including wellbeing plans, guidance on managing distress, training sessions.
Find out more below:
This webinar, hosted by Centre-UB, explores how exposure to emotionally demanding material can lead to psychological distress and behaviours used to cope with this exposure.
Speakers include: Professor Jessica Woodhams, Dr Amy Burrell and Dr Fazeelat Duran
This podcast, hosted by Methods@Manchester, explores researcher vulnerability, where Dr Chloe Steadman reflects on her experiences as a researcher, particularly in relation to her PhD work focused on bodies and tattoo consumption.