Dr Bethan Edwards

Bethan is a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) advisor at the KCL NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Hub.  She is also a neurodivergent researcher with lived experience of using mental health services.  Bethan has an extensive background in PPIE in both a research context and in relation to the design and delivery of healthcare services.  She has a particular interest and experience in working with people and communities who may be marginalised by traditional PPIE practices and processes, including people in forensic mental health or prison settings and people living with dementia or a learning disability.

Studying at Cardiff University, Bethan qualified as an occupational therapist in 2011, and completed her PhD in 2022.  She worked as part of the Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) NHS research delivery workforce from 2014-2022.  With this background, she is passionate about supporting practitioner / clinician researchers, particularly those from minoritised professions (e.g., AHPs and the peer support / lived experience workforce) in her work at the RSS.  Her clinical practice experience has been in forensic mental health services.

Bethan has had an active role in the grassroots mental health survivor / service user / lived experience / mad community and amongst many activities co-founded MadCovid and the Stop SIM coalition and campaign.  She uses her lived experience to inform her own research in the area of iatrogenic harms / patient safety / safeguarding in the context of mental health services.