title: 'That was helpful … no one has talked to me about that before': Research participation as a therapeutic activity.
abstract: There is considerable interest in the various ethical problems associated with undertaking health and social science research. Participants in such research are often considered vulnerable because of their health status, social position, or dependence on others for health and welfare services. Researchers and ethics committees pay scrupulous attention to the identification and amelioration of risks to participants. Rarely are the benefits to participants of engaging in research highlighted or drawn to the attention of potential participants. Such potential benefits need to be considered by researchers and reviewers when considering the balance of benefits and harms associated with research projects. In this paper, we particularly consider the psychotherapeutic benefits of participation in research.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. richard.lakeman@scu.edu.au
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lakeman
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McAndrew
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: MacGabhann
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Warne
mesh_terms: D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000941:ethics*; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D062525:Narrative Therapy / Q000941:ethics; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000941:ethics*; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000941:ethics*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D035842:Research Subjects / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000941:ethics*