Promoting Excellence In Psychological Health & Wellbeing
Launching our Expert by Experience Animation! Why is EbE involvement Good for Everyone? Alison Bryant, NW PPN EbE Representation Steering Group Member
Listen to the blog audio here (8.26 MB) .
Welcome to our first blog of 2023 and a belated Happy New Year to you all!
What news do we have to share with you from the PPN NW EbE steering group? There is so much in store over coming months but currently, as promised in the last blog – big drum roll! – our animation is now online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKMI4ATlLAU
The animation has taken all of us in the EbE steering group and the team, whether we appear or not, on a long journey of development. We wanted our underlying message to highlight the important role played by EbEs in the psychological professions, training, services and research and to sing this out loud and clear to inform audiences of health professionals, service users, charities, commissioners and policy makers. In illustrating the benefits of EbE involvement, through the animation we aim to open new doors, stimulate conversation, to network and establish novel routes for involvement to share our message to achieve and enable real and lasting impact.
Our timeline for the animation and development took us through-
- Early meetings in co-production to consider our content, aims and message.
- Three members of the steering group – Hilary, Joe and myself, with a passion for EbE outreach, and Clare Baguley (PPN NW Programme Manager and Co-chair EbE Steering Group) as a psychological professional, would be the on-screen contributors to deliver our message using our knowledge and lived experience.
- Our animator James Munro and a professional editor Angela Barlow worked with us to fine-tune the scripts we had written to fit the brief and constraints of the animated format.
- Our individual content was storyboarded, and the steering group made changes where required.
- We recorded the audio content with the help of professional sound recordists who made us feel comfortable in an unfamiliar situation and, I think it’s fair to say, there was much humour on our part stumbling over our words and listening to our voices through enormous headphones!
- Finally, we included the caricature faces of everyone involved in the animation in the credits.
When we viewed the completed animation -which James Munro (animator) had realised magnificently – we were amazed at what we had achieved and are proud and delighted to be able to share this with you all.
We welcome your responses to the animation, requests for information, to screen the animation or for us to talk to you about our work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKMI4ATlLAU
In March, PPN England/HEE will take the animation to the next level, including additional resources, cards designed to raise awareness and facilitate and create behaviour change and, as a call to action for the conversations that are needed to grow EbE involvement. In this, your feedback is important to us, to shape our work and vision for the future.
Then…
On Wednesday May 24th we will be presenting the animation at the face-to-face 10th anniversary PPN NW celebration (more details and venue information to follow soon)! We will be sharing feedback and responses to the March launch and new and novel ways the animation can be used as part of a package for training and informing trainers, clinicians, commissioners and service users about EbE involvement. More news about this will be coming in the next few months.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions of content you would like to see in this blog, please contact me Alison Bryant c/o
The PPN NW EbE steering group aims to inform, enable and influence on the benefits of EbE involvement so please contact the group at
Coming soon in February’s blog.
Getting to know Bev Liver (EbE steering group member) and Learning Together NW, to hear the voices of Philip, Jean, Mark, Ruth, Brian and Gillian on the work they are involved in as EbEs.
