Co-creating research across disciplines – sharing knowledge with other professions

Background and context
Like our clients, therapists find ourselves squeezed by intense socio-economic and cultural pressures (Jackson and Risq, 2019). We often feel we have to fight for our professional survival in a world of few resources. This could cause us to pull up our drawbridge, and turn inwards, seeking only to evidence our way of working, rather than enter into dialogue with other professions. But we could also find nourishment and power in solidarity. Youth workers, social workers, domestic violence advocates, teachers, artists, and many other professions are grappling with similar research questions, and advocating for change. Radical social solutions to global problems might be found in research, if we can work together, valuing our differences within a set of shared values (Smith et al., 2021).

Questions and issues to consider in the session
In this discussion group we will consider the following question:
• How to create change for our clients, and in society, by joining forces with transdisciplinary research allies?

Audience
This session will be useful for you if you are interested in fostering social change by engaging with the knowledge and practices of like-minded professionals from other fields. Perhaps you are trained in other disciplines, and you are informed by multiple perspectives in your research work. Perhaps you work in a multi-disciplinary team, and you have the experience of researching with other professionals for the benefit of clients. Perhaps you have an idea for pluralistic research that would cross professional boundaries, enriching your findings. Please bring your own valuable experience to our discussion.

Considerations given to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion
We welcome a diverse group of people into this session. Our position is that conversations are most meaningful and valuable when multiple perspectives, knowledge, and experience are shared. We are exploring issues of poverty and social oppression, with the aim of building resilient radical communities. This discussion will be held in a contracted safe space, and we ask participants to bring warmth, solidarity, and a valuing of difference to this session.