Our researchers make up an international Deaf and hearing research team.

We have been designing and developing accessible mindfulness based training practices  to support both performance training, and general well-being.

This research project was a collaboration between Equal Voices Arts, a Deaf and hearing theatre company based in Aotearoa New Zealand, and principal investigator, Dr Laura Haughey (MSC European Commission Fellow, University of Huddersfield). The project was supervised by Dr Deborah Middleton and Dr Ben Spatz (University of Huddersfield).

We have been developing a non-hierarchical research methodology, a way of working that acknowledges and equally respects the unique embodied and cultural expertise each researcher brings. We do this by: 

• prioritising cultural knowledge,

• prioritising embodied knowledge,

• prioritising signed language in the research space (New Zealand Sign Language, British Sign Language, and International Sign Language),

• respecting that all linguistic decisions should be made and led by first language users,

• interrogating what ‘access’ and ‘equity’ in these contexts could and should mean,

• developing mindfulness based practices that are both CULTURALLY and LINGUISTICALLY accessible (not just translated into sign language from English).

This way of working respects each language and culture equally, and is a partnership that benefits each community, as opposed to benefitting one more than the other.

We introduce our Deaf and hearing research team plus the supervisory team below, asking each collaborator to share what they each bring to this research project.