An animation highlighting the skills needed in peer research, as expressed from the inside out, by peer researchers.
We are excited to share the poem and animation Ode to Peer Research, a companion to our 10 for 10 resource on the same topic.
Through poetry and hand-crafted animation, we tell the story of lived experience in research at McPin. It was co-created with McPin and Isolde Godfrey at Woven Ink, an animation studio specialising in hand-made visual art.
Peer researchers skilfully blend personal and professional experience to do research that is both courageous and compassionate. Raj Hazzard, McPin senior researcher and creative lead on this work, wanted to honour that in a creative, dynamic way.
Raj wrote the poem, inspired by the many conversations she had with the team while co-creating the written 10 for 10 Peer Research resource. Wanting a freer, more abstract way to explore the more visceral elements of peer research and our experiences of it, poetry and a visual representation felt like the way to go. The animation highlights the skills needed in peer research, as expressed from the inside out, by peer researchers. 
Each scene is painted and constructed by hand, then broken down and combined for the final scene – a “kaleidoscope of lived reality”. Isolde at Woven Ink worked with us to bring ideas to life in a truly collaborative process.
About the animation itself, she says: “The visuals are entirely handmade, they really look handmade, which gives a more human feel and matches the aesthetic of the poem, I think.” The imagery used was important – an anatomical heart, a watercolour eye representing searching inward. The aim was not to sanitise the rawer elements of living with mental health issues.
The landscape of peer research is complex. Elements of this complexity are weaved through the animation. The polarising impact of mental ill health – the way it can shun and sensationalise – creates a working environment that requires courage and resilience.
Raj says: “At one point in the poem, I speak of warriors basking in the glory of battles won to express the resistance that peer researchers can come up against. This is referencing battles one can have both within oneself and within the field, which can manifest in different forms. Discrimination, ignorance, stereotypes. Peer researchers fight resistance, with resistance.”
Peer researchers can use their knowledge and position to challenge the systems they work in. In the resource we’ve termed this ‘respectful rebellion’ (see page 29). On a personal level, peer research provides an opportunity to value one’s own vulnerability as a strength and show doubters what is possible.
Raj reflects “We all carry stories that make us feel small, or scared, or fearful. Then you get gifted a space to share the same stories differently, in a way that gives you a sense of acceptance and agency. Then you go from feeling tiny, to feeling a sense of power and ownership. This is what peer research can offer”.
