Report by Mark Rowles, PhD student at Royal College of Music

I attended and presented at the 2026 ENMESH Conference, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, between 18th and 20th June 2026. The conference brought together a range of researchers and health practitioners for a programme focused on mental health research and service evaluation.

A notable session for me was a symposium led by researchers at the University of Plymouth titled Building support and care for people with complex emotional needs who are excluded from services. One paper explored why individuals facing social adversity often disengage from community mental health services, showing how trust, communication, prior experiences, and service structures shape engagement. It highlighted that waiting periods can actively build or erode trust, and that flexible, relational care supports engagement more effectively than rigid systems.

Another highlight for me was the keynote by Dr Stefan Rennick Egglestone, which explored how researchers with lived experience can strengthen research quality by drawing on their knowledge to enable equitable, productive, and destigmatised interactions with participants, as well as prioritising research questions and implementation approaches that have the capacity to make a difference to people who are struggling.

I presented my research on the role of music listening in the lives of individuals who experience psychosis, highlighting the range of benefits and risks involved. I also considered the implications of these findings for practitioners and individuals with lived experience, particularly in recognising music listening as a potentially meaningful and supportive resource, while remaining attentive to its complexities. The discussion that followed offered valuable feedback and new perspectives.

Overall, I was thoroughly inspired by my trip to ENMESH 2026, which reinforced the importance of collaborative and socially responsive research.