We had hoped to open the Talking Therapists survey sooner. It is taking longer than planned because we want to do careful work on privacy, data handling, ethics and question design before inviting people to take part.
Care before the questions
We’re therapists asking other therapists about barriers to talking about our own mental health and getting support. We know the subject can feel personal, so the survey needs to be clear about what it asks and what participation involves.
We’re taking time to review the questions and the arrangements around the information people may share. This includes considering privacy and ethics, and seeking researcher input as part of developing the project.
What we want to explain
Before the survey opens, we want people to be able to read plain-English information about how their data will be handled and what the limits of confidentiality are. We also want it to be clear that taking part is voluntary, and that the survey is intended to be anonymous.
Those details matter as much as the questions themselves. We won’t ask anyone to take part until we’re ready to explain them properly.
There is no pressure to join
For now, the survey is not open. We’ll share an update when it is ready, including who it is for and what to expect; until then, there is nothing you need to do. We appreciate the care people are bringing to a topic that deserves a careful approach.