Our Norwegian Visitor, Jan Aasen, PhD candidate

by Amanda David on 13th Feb 2024 in Uncategorised

I had the pleasure of going on an abroad study stay to work on my PhD and the Centre for Mental Health and Society in November 2023. I am a PhD candidate at the Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders. I am working on a project aimed at developing virtual-reality based interventions for promoting social participation among people with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders.

Working with interdisciplinary research, such as virtual reality interventions development, entail particular challenges with theoretical conceptualizations. Peter Huxley and colleagues’ work on social participation and the development of the SCOPE questionnaire make up a well-suited theoretical framework developing and evaluating measures for promoting social participation. This theoretical framework has underpinned my PhD project form the start. Working on my data analysis under Peter’s supervision has been vital for the progress of my Ph.D. project. Working alongside so welcoming and supportive colleagues at the Mental Health Society Centre brought additional contributions to my study.

The month I stayed with the team in Wrexham gave further insights and perspectives to our task on introducing digital technologies to social work. I highly appreciate all I have learned from my stay, and I will bring it with me in my further research.

Thanks for having me!

Best regards

Jan Aasen, PhD candidate