YWSUD: Enhancing the voice of young women journeying through and beyond problematic substance use: Reverse innovation insights from India to the UK
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: School of Psychology
Abstract
UK problematic substance use (PSU) is highest in 16-24 year olds with a recent estimate that 6.9% of women consume illegal substances each year. Young women with PSU are a chronically-underserved, under-researched demographic. Women's treatment needs are unique, however there is a dearth of provision and little research on what women with PSU want from services. My mission is to enhance the voice of young women journeying through and beyond PSU. I bring insights from my use of visual methods with a similar demographic in India and will embed women's perspectives in research, UK policy, and service development. This work builds on a partnership with Humankind Charity, one of the UK's largest drug and alcohol treatment providers. Aim 1: To enhance psychological, social and cultural insights into the experience of risk, resilience and recovery with regard to young women with PSU in the UK. This will be achieved through a systematic research review and a research study with a diverse sample of 12-15 women aged 18-30 years on their recovery journey. Data will be generated using visual methods-informed interviews and analysed with Thematic Analysis. Aim 2: To promote young women's voice with respect to PSU to raise public awareness and inform policy in the UK. This will be achieved through creating 5 co-produced films, public engagement, and promoting a policy brief. Aim 3: To adapt visual methods to enhance service provision for young women with PSU. This will be achieved through a placement with Humankind focused on knowledge exchange with service users and providers, and the creation of a training manual on using visual methods with young women with PSU. Scientific impacts include understanding the basis of an innovative solution to supporting the recovery from PSU. Social impacts include interrupting the intergeneration cycle of deprivation. Economic impacts are potentially enormous given that every pound spent on drug treatment saves 2.5 times that in future costs.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Title | The Worth Within |
| Description | This short film is a product of a photo-led interview with a woman who shared her experience of navigating her way from addiction to recovery while struggling to develop her self-worth. Photos and videos she gathered were put together along with quotes from the interview, ironed into a moving film about what it is like to be a woman making this journey. The participant chose to remain anonymous, however, her work is extremely valuable to convey what it feels like to be a woman making this arduous journey. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | This film is submitted to five film festivals, already accepted in one. Besides this, the filmmaking process has had considerable impact on the participant who coproduced the film. She said, "Return to the future - to make the present better - it's really a healing it's more than that Makes me feel so free, light, like when you're young child-like, any kind of art I can do do something and making someone happy liberating feeling, light and alive The only time I felt heavy was the part of my relationship with my mother". The film was also showed to service providers in one of the centres associated with our partner organisation and the feedback has been extremely positive. |
| URL | https://youtu.be/-GUqDNfuo1A |
| Description | Gendered Challenges in Addiction and Recovery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This presentation was in the form of a Guest lecture delivered online to 180 participants that included students and faculty from the Department of Psychology (Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia). The purpose was dissemination of early findings while raising awareness and interest in the topic. Early analysis of the data was shared comparing it with previous work on women's experiences around problematic substance use, highlighted cultural difference in experiences of women around substance-related challenges. At the end the organiser reported interest in more presentations around this topic as the project progresses. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Photo Speaks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Photo Speaks is an interactive workshop designed to introduce participants to the power of visual storytelling using photographs. Drawing on participatory and reflective methods, this session invites individuals to explore personal meaning, imagination, and narrative through image-based activities. Aim of the workshop: To demonstrate how photographs can be used as storytelling tools. To foster personal expression and emotional insight through visual methods. Key activities: Participants: Select and reflect on images. Create titles to give a meaning to a photo. Imagine what lies outside the image. Create a story using a collection of photos. 35 students attended the workshop along with 2 members of staff in School of Healthcare (University of Leeds). There was a lot of interest shared in using these methods in their own work. Besides discussions that happened during the workshop, there were students who approached later to discuss further some of their questions and interests in the topic of research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Photo Speaks - for potential participants |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Photo Speaks is an interactive workshop designed to introduce women service users to the power of visual storytelling using photographs, with the intention to generate interest in participation. Drawing on participatory and reflective methods, this session invited individuals to explore personal meaning, imagination, and narrative through image-based activities. This workshop was delivered in one of the recovery hubs associated with our partner organisation. The aim of the workshop was: To demonstrate how photographs can be used as storytelling tools. To foster personal expression and emotional insight through visual methods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Seeing and Experiencing Stories: Using creative methods in mental health research across varied contexts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This presentation reflected on the use of creative methods across four qualitative research projects, including the current project, presented as part of Qualitative Research Practice Group (QRPG); University of Leeds. It was a Hybrid seminar open to members who were primarily from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at University of Leeds. The purpose of this presentation was to disseminate knowledge on the power of visual methods in understanding lived experiences. Overall, this presentation reflected on my evolving journey of using creative methods in mental health research across diverse topics and settings, considering their ethical, relational, and interpretive dimensions. At the end of the presentation, audience engaged in Q & A leading to some very interesting discussions about the methods and participant engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |