In conversation with … Shaun Bell

Shaun was a Heathy Living Adviser in the Forensic service for over 20 years, he has just started a role as a Research Assistant with the Research Department at the Trust as well as being a Senior Coach for the Diamonds study one day a week. In this article Shaun tells us about his journey into research and how research really is for everyone.

Can you tell me a bit about your career to date?

I’ve worked in mental health services for 20 years, a lot of that time was spent working as a healthy living advisor with forensic inpatient services.

How did you get involved in research?

About 10 years ago I was developing interventions of my own for my role and this led me to look at other people’s research, specifically around things like behavioural change. I read lots of research papers. At the time I saw a Trustwide email looking for people for a research project called Stepwise programme. The Stepwise intervention was looking at weight management for people with severe mental illness who were taking antipsychotics. It was pertinent to my role because a lot of my role was things like weight management and helping people deal with the side effects of psychotics. I thought it was a really good way of gaining new skills and a good education for myself. But it was also a nice opportunity to do something a little bit different. I started working as an interventionist. I supported the Step Programme for the whole length of the two years of the trial.

And how did you fit that interventionist role into your clinical role?

It was so much time per working week but there was a lot more work than you think and some people dropped out but I really enjoyed doing it so I kept with it. I mean, I had my managers approval to do this because it was pertinent to my role. It wasn’t like it was doing something completely different to my role. It was acquiring skills that I could use within my role. So yeah, it was hard work but it was definitely worth it.

And then what happened?

At the moment I’m working on a couple of projects, I’ve got the Diamonds [randomised control trial] study, which is for people with SMI (severe mental illness) and diabetes and the Spaces which is physical activity intervention for people with SMI. I worked on the Diamonds feasibility study whilst I was still in my role in forensic services last year. And then when the feasibility study ended and it became the full trial I became employed by York University one day a week as a Senior Diamonds Coach. I’m doing some of the interventionists work but I’m also doing mentoring for the other newer coaches who haven’t done it before because I know the intervention really well.

What have you learnt from being a research Interventionist?

I’ve definitely learnt a lot of new knowledge from being an interventionist. As much as you are knowledgeable in your field, you don’t know everything. Just reading a different approach to do with trying to help people stop smoking you think? Oh actually that’s a really good way of doing it. Research is really valuable for picking up different ways of working that you might not think of yourself even if you’re an expert in your field.

It opens up a new perspective and especially when you’ve been in a role for a long, long time you become sort of like almost automatic in the way you work. You just think I do this, this, this and this and this and they don’t always work, especially with behaviour change. New approaches identified through research can really open up a new way of working and sometimes a better way of working. If I find something useful, I just e-mail people and say ‘have a look at this, could be really useful.’

And what do you feel you enjoy most about the research aspect of the role that you’ve had?

I enjoy the difference, the very varied sort of nature of it. I’ve learnt lots of new things. I’ve learnt lots of new skills just doing different things has been really interesting. It reinvigorated me a little bit, I feel I it definitely has energised me.

What do you think of the biggest challenges you faced?

It’s taking yourself out of your comfort zone and actually doing something different. You’re not always doing the same thing with research, you could be working on a research project then start working on something completely different. That’s the biggest challenge that you’ve got to acquire new skills all the time but although it’s the challenge, perhaps it’s also the appeal as well!

Research is accessible to everybody and it’s a great way of learning. You acquire all these new skills and it opens new doors, which it has done for me. It can give you a pathway into a different role.

How have you managed to integrate being a research interventionist into your clinical role?

I went to my manager originally and said I’d like to be an interventionist. I was the only person doing my role across the whole of the clinic of the whole of the forensic services. I had to cover three different clinical areas all on my own. Initially, they went, have you really got the time to do this?
But if I think I can do an aspect of my job a better way, it’s not as simple as just saying, right, I’m going do it this way now because you can’t just change your way of working or practices just because you think it might be a better way. And that’s what research does. It looks at ways that we can work better, and that’s how we improve a service, how we improve as clinicians. Yes, it might take a little bit of time out of your role, which might stretch your time, everybody’s time is stretched but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. Sometimes we need to look at the bigger picture, the longer picture.

What will be your message to anyone else that wants to get involved in research?

Doing research you’re going to improve as a clinician because you’re going to learn new skills. You’re going to improve your service because research is how we improve our services and start new practices. Research is how we change things and it’s improving the quality of the service that we offer. Research is how we improve as clinicians and how we improve the service.

Page last updated: 20th May 2025 4:20pm