Ask us what we need: Involving service families in the research process

Beyond the Battlefield

How can we safely involve individuals with lived experience in research? What does ‘the right person’ look like, and when are they ready to get involved? What questions do we need to ask in order to achieve meaningful inclusion? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Sharon Lawn and Laryssa Lamrock to discuss current gaps in research practice, meaningful advances in emerging areas, and the implications of including lived experience perspectives within military family research.

Your voice matters! Let us know what you thought of this episode: https://bit.ly/49O3fBm

Laryssa Lamrock has worked with military, Veteran and first responder Families in different capacities over the last 20 years, including extensive experience in the field of family peer support with Operational Stress Injuries (OSIs) such as anxiety, PTSD and depression. Today, she is the National Strategic Advisor - Families for Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families. She participates on a number of Committees including, the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Advisory Council, the VAC Ministerial Advisory on Families and the Veterans Affairs Deputy Minister’s Commendation Awards Advisory Committee. Within her various roles, Laryssa has had numerous speaking engagements involving mental health awareness specific to OSIs, peer support and her lived personal experiences. Laryssa strongly believes in the importance of education and support for families of military members, Veterans and first responders living with post traumatic injuries. Along with her professional experiences, Laryssa is truly a military family member as she is the daughter, spouse and mother of formerly or currently serving Canadian Armed Forces members. Her personal experiences in supporting a loved one with OSI and her own journey with depression drives her passion for representing and advocating for families. She believes strongly not only in the importance of family involvement in the recovery process of their loved ones’ mental health injuries but also in the necessity of families being supported in their own experiences.

Dr. Sharon Lawn is a Professor at Flinders University where she is Co-Director of One Door, a research initiative focused on social health and wellbeing for Veterans and public safety personnel and their families. Sharon was previously Director of the Department of Psychiatry research unit, and lead South Australian Mental Health Commissioner in 2020-21. Sharon is also Executive Director of Lived Experience Australia, a nationally awarded mental health lived experience organisation. Sharon brings her personal lived experience and 20+ years supporting family members with mental health concerns to several national representative roles. Prior to these roles, Sharon worked in mental health, aged care and disability services in South Australia for 23 years. Sharon continues to undertake a broad range of mental health research and advocacy from a lived experience perspective. She is particularly passionate about addressing co-occurring physical health and mental health, stigma and coercion in care, system cultures, and exploring the person’s and their family’s experiences of seeking and receiving support within service systems. This currently includes project exploring Veteran suicide, women Veterans’ experiences of transition and the experiences of volunteer firefighters and their families.

Check out Laryssa Lamrock’s foreword in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/3Wxl5Wj

Also featured in this special edition: Dr. Sharon Lawn et al.’s research article, “Fam

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.