Project Soothe is a global citizen science project, founded by Stella Chan in 2015 at the University of Edinburgh. In 2020, the team moved to the University of Reading where we are currently based. Combining world-leading research and public engagement, our mission is to develop a bank of soothing photographs that can be shared with others to improve mental health and wellbeing.
The public are actively engaged in our research as citizen scientists, meaning they are actively involved in developing and conducting the research. Members of the public from all over the world have been submitting their own soothing images into our image bank as well as rating how soothing the images are.
Our aim is to develop soothing images that can be widely used in research and therapies to support mental health and wellbeing. We have recently been working with children and young people to support them to develop and test wellbeing tools and have launched a Project Soothe app feature with CogniCare. We have also worked with many healthcare organisations and charities from across the UK to collaboratively create, pilot and showcase pioneering ways that our soothing images can be used in practice. Together we have created a User Guide to showcase their innovative pilots projects.
Need to chat?
If you have questions or comments about Project Soothe, please get in touch.
Contact us
Former Collaborators and Researchers
Phoenix Byrne
Research Assistant, 2021 - 2022, University of Reading
Olivia Gibson
Research Assistant, 2021 - 2022, University of Reading
Rebecca Borcsok
Research Assistant 2021 - 2022, University of Reading
Prof Matthias Schwannauer
Collaborator, University of Edinburgh
Dr Angela McLaughlin
Research Assistant / Postdoctoral Research Fellow 2015-2020, University of Edinburgh
Dr Elaine Gray
Postdoctoral Research Fellow 2020, University of Edinburgh
Niamh MacSweeney
Research Assistant 2019, University of Edinburgh
Stephanie Allan
Research Assistant 2017-2020, University of Edinburgh
Katie Gambier-Ross
Research Assistant 2020, University of Edinburgh
Dr Keren MacLennan
Assistant Professor, Durham University
Dr Fiona Ashworth
Senior Lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University
Students
Amolika Roy
UROP placement student, 2022, University of Reading
Nevena Harris
PhD Student from October 2024, University of Reading
Citizen Science Champions
we are grateful to many schools and organisations which have supported our research and innovation.
Get Involved
Find out more about how to submit your soothing photos and help us learn more about the everyday experience of self-soothe.
Funding Support
We are grateful to have received funding from the following organisations.
