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Article History

Received: 31 August 2025

Accepted: 27 March 2026

First Online: 9 April 2026

Competing interests

: The author declares no competing interests.

: Ethical approval for the oral history programme highlighted in this study was obtained from the Mind in Bexley Research and Ethics Advisory Board, a community-based committee comprising clinical leads, safeguarding officers, academics, and experts by experience. Approvals were granted as follows: Carers in Mind project: Ref18032024C1, approved 18 March 2024. Suicide Bereavement Oral History project: Ref01062023SESEL1, approved 1 June 2023. COVID-19 “Stories of Lockdown” project: Ref11012021COV1, approved 11 January 2021. Minding Histories migration oral history project: Ref110209MH1, approved 11 February 2009. All studies were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, ), the UK Health Research Authority Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research (HRA, 2021), the British Sociological Association Statement of Ethical Practice ( ), the BASW Code of Ethics ( ), GDPR ( ), NHS England guidance on trauma-informed practice, the Oral History Society ethical guidelines, and the safeguarding principles of the Care Act ( ).

: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their involvement in narrative interviews conducted across the four oral history projects included in this study. Data collection took place during the following project periods: Minding Histories migration oral history project (2009); COVID-19 “Stories of Lockdown” oral history project (2021); Suicide Bereavement Oral History project (2023); and Carers in Mind oral history project (2024), corresponding to ethics approvals Ref110209MH1, Ref11012021COV1, Ref01062023SESEL1, and Ref18032024C1. Consent was obtained in writing using participant consent forms following provision of a detailed participant information sheet and was collected by trained interviewers and project researchers from Mind in Bexley before any interview or creative contribution took place. Participants were informed of the purpose of the research, the voluntary nature of participation, how interview data and creative materials would be used for research and publication, and the potential inclusion of material within public exhibitions and associated outputs. Participants were assured that academic publications would maintain confidentiality and anonymity unless explicit additional written permission for attribution was provided. As the research involved potentially vulnerable adults, including individuals experiencing mental distress, suicide bereavement, or unpaid caring responsibilities, consent procedures followed trauma-informed principles emphasising voluntary participation, the right to withdraw without consequence, and the opportunity to review, amend, or remove contributions at any stage. Written consent was obtained at the time of each interview or contribution and recorded through signed consent forms retained securely by the research team in accordance with GDPR and institutional research governance requirements.