The Converge Evaluation and Research Team (CERT) is a group of UK-based researchers with lived experience of mental health difficulties. There is growing international pressure from major research funders that research projects should be co-produced with those people being researched. This article explores how CERT researchers have sought to achieve such allyship in their work across five projects, including choosing user-friendly interview methods such as photographs and music; allowing participants to decide on language; deciding which areas of research should be prioritised; and training participants in interviewing so that they can interview alongside CERT researchers. Across the projects described here, it emerged that small talk between the CERT researcher and the participant prior to, and during the interview – in particular, the sharing of mutual experiences of living with mental health difficulties – appears to be extremely important to creating allyship between them. Creating allyship is an important component of ensuring participants ultimately benefit from the research through greater validity of, and increased real-world relevance of, the findings. The author identifies as having lived experience of mental health difficulties and considers allyship from the dual perspective of both having lived experience and as a researcher.

融合评估和研究团队（CERT）是一群英国的研究人员，他们在精神健康方面有过丰富的经验。来自主要研究资助者的国际压力越来越大，要求研究项目应与被研究者共同制作。本文探讨了CERT研究人员如何在五个项目中的工作中实现这种同盟，包括选择用户友好的采访方法，例如照片和音乐；允许参与者决定语言；决定应优先研究的领域；并对参加者进行面试培训，以便他们可以与CERT研究人员一起面试。在这里描述的项目中，在访谈之前和访谈期间，CERT研究人员和参与者之间出现了闲聊，尤其是，共享患有精神健康困难的人的共同经验–对于在他们之间建立同盟关系显得极为重要。建立同盟关系是确保参与者通过提高研究结果的有效性和现实意义而最终从研究中受益的重要组成部分。作者认为自己曾有过精神健康困难的经验，并从既有经验又有研究者的双重角度考虑了同盟关系。