March 2019

The seminar held at the Lab's offices comprised four contributions. Vashti Berry from the Exeter Medical School discussed a new service being trialled in the South West, Life and Leadership Coaching - a promising behaviour change approach for improving the empowerment, efficacy and well-being of carers who are parenting alone following domestic violence. Kate Tobyn from the Dartington Service Design Lab then explained how findings from a the Lab's research in Scotland is informing the development of services designed to prevent suicide among young people - currently a matter of some national concern. On the second day, Mervyn Murch then led a discussion of his new book Supporting Children Whose Parents Separate: Embedding a crisis intervention approach within family justice, education and mental health policy. The seminar ended with a presentation by Maria Portugal, a service design specialist from the Lab, who discussed the relationship between research and design, citing examples of practice-based learnings and historical case studies as well as reflecting on her experiences.