What could the futures
of technology for self-care look like?

Overview

Summary: This study explores how people who use humanistic psychology think about (self-care) technology.

What is this project about?

As part of their PhD, a doctoral researcher is hosting a collaborative online space for 4 weeks to explore the future of humanistic self-care tech. Think community board, just remotely. After the space has been up for a couple of weeks, there will be a group meeting to discuss if the board worked and which ideas spoke to you.

I'm interested!

Who can take part? Open to everybody who uses humanistic psychology in their practise, education or professional life (therapists, counsellors, designers, practitioners, students etc.)

When and for how long? August to September 2020 (~4 weeks)

What's the Time Commitment? 10-60mins interaction with a website (over 4 weeks; as much or as little as you want!) + (optional) 60mins call at the end of the study.

Where? Online, in a MURAL board (shared collaborative workspace).

Reimbursement: £20 Shopping Voucher

FAQs

Could you give me a short overview of the project? Sure! As part of their PhD, a doctoral researcher is hosting a collaborative online space for 4 weeks to explore the future of humanistic self-care tech. Think community board, just remotely. After the space has been up for a couple of weeks, there will be a group meeting/call to discuss if the board worked and which ideas spoke to you.
Will the platform be safe, inclusive & accessible? Everybody is welcome to the space, regardless of body size, ethnicity, race, gender identity, gender expression, sexuality, age, religion and/or technology choices (among others). Taking part in this study is only possible by agreeing to a Code of Conduct that outlines being respectful to each other.
I have never used MURAL / a collaborative online space before. No worries! If you decide to take part, you will be sent an introduction and overview write-up plus videos that explain 1) how MURAL works and 2) how to interact with the space. All you need is a fairly stable internet connection and an up-to-date web browser (e.g. Firefox, Google Chrome ...).
I don’t think I can bring anything new to this space. This series of workshops is not necessarily about creating newness. It is more about collectively discovering potential opportunities for person-centred counselling and humanistic psychology to be integrated into human computer interaction (and vice versa!). Your experiences as a practitioner or drive to become a practitioner (as a student) will be invaluable.
I don’t use a lot of tech in my everyday life. That’s super interesting, too! If anything, I talk to people who are perhaps too enthusiastic about technology (and what it can/could do). You do not have to feel any particular way about technology to take part, any opinion is welcome!
Technology-facilitated self-care and therapy is super problematic (and I don’t want to condone it!) I hear you 100%. My personal research motivation also stems from looking at therapy being used in insidious ways, e.g. to increase productivity for productivity's sake instead of facilitating healing. I would love to hear where you see things go wrong, where the most obvious pain points for you are. Let's think up new spaces, tools and futures to show that alternatives to the status quo are possible.
How can I support this project? Thank you so much! If this project resonates with you, please share it in your personal networks, tweet about it and tell others about it! I am forever grateful!

The Researcher

Summary: A PhD student interested in holistic, humanistic self-care through and with technology.

Researcher

Hey, hi! I’m Velvet. I’m currently doing my PhD at the Mixed Reality Lab, at the University of Nottingham, UK. I’m part of the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training. My research aims to investigate:

  1. Can technology support people in “doing” self-care in groups, in semi-public spaces (like galleries or museum spaces)?
  2. Can personal data be used meaningfully in abstract ways in self-care technology?

The baseline of my research is informed by ideas of social justice & equity, lived experience and compassion. I spent a lot of my time thinking about empathy in/with/around technology and how we can collectively manifest different futures.

My research is also being supported by the National Videogame Museum (NVM) in Sheffield. Run as a museum/cultural centre, the NVM is interested in inviting people to be playful and experience video games as entertainment, art and culture.

My supervisors are Dr. Martin Flintham, Dr. Pat Brundell and Dr. David Murphy.

Please feel free to reach out to me! You can find me on twitter @niceotherwise, or email me (velvet.spors@nottingham.ac.uk).