Nurturing Mental Health Research Career Growth: My Journey with the NIHR Mental Health Incubator GROW Researcher Programme

An academic career can be filled with challenges and obstacles. However, my career path took a significant turn for the better when I was selected for the NIHR Mental Health Incubator GROW Researcher Programm 2022/2023 cohort – I had just returned from maternity leave and was feeling low in confidence, and a little bit lost about the next steps for my career. I wanted to apply for a Fellowship, but I had no idea where to start. GROW was a transformative experience that provided me with the essential resources that I never knew I needed!

Workshops on Fellowship Applications

The Programme held workshops about preparing an application for different Fellowship schemes, such as NIHR, Wellcome and Leverhulme. These workshops offered valuable insights into what funders and reviewers look for and provided guidance on planning and crafting a compelling application. We also heard stories of success and failure from academics of all levels, who gave realistic insights into the difficult but rewarding journey ahead. The knowledge I gained from these workshop, together with the support I gained from colleagues I met through GROW, helped me on my way to securing an NIHR Three Schools Mental Health Fellowship.

Career Coaching

I also received career coaching as part of GROW. I went into coaching with a perceived ‘problem’ to work on: that I have so many ideas and projects spinning around at once. Interestingly, I left coaching with an understanding that being such a ‘scatter ball’ is an important part of who I am.  It is what keeps me happy and also, I came to understand having lots of options and ideas is important for my research career.

Supportive Network of Colleagues

Someone asked me recently what the best thing about GROW was, and it has been the people I have met! Fellow GROW participant Dr Beth Bareham (Newcastle University) and I attended a writing retreat at Chapelgarth in North Yorkshire back in April. We not only got a lot of writing done, but we also had a lot of fun, and we have another one planned in November bringing our two teams together.

It has been great to join a supportive group of colleagues- research can be isolating, and having a supportive group of peers who are at a similar career stage was incredibly reassuring. We have shared our challenges, exchanged ideas, and offered one another emotional support. Following on from some of our discussions, we have also embarked on a shared research project, exploring the mental health of mental health researchers. You can take part in our online survey here: https://york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0erOJ3j7Ikw2vMW

Reunion Sessions and Forged Connections

The programme doesn’t end after the year either- we all stay in touch and there was recently a meeting for all three cohorts in London. Beth and I facilitated a zine workshop at this day to explore our mental health of mental health researcher project. I also attended some fascinating discussions on AI, complex evaluations, and prioritisation.

The NIHR Mental Health Incubator GROW Researcher Programme has been an instrumental force in shaping and supporting my mental health research career. I’d really recommend applying for any future or similar schemes, and also to take any opportunities for coaching!