This project responded to the concerns of experienced community health workers who worked with people who had mental illness and resided in Supported Residential Facilities (SRFs) in South Australia. They had identified that urinary and faecal incontinence was common for this group of people and yet it was an issue that had not previously been addressed. The aim of the research was to develop continence promotion strategies specifically for community dwelling people who have mental illness. The aim of this article is to articulate the authors' reflections of the way learning was facilitated by collaboratively researching with people who have debilitating and enduring mental illness. The authors facilitated 10 Participatory Action Research (PAR) group meetings with people with mental illness and who experienced incontinence during 2002. Using a collaborative research process, participants were facilitated to "look, think and act". That was to look at possible reasons for incontinence, identify self-management strategies and to take action to achieve self-selected goals. In this way, participants sought practical strategies for lifestyle modification and awareness raising, with a strong chance of successful uptake.