def post_search_api(self, client, json_data, content_type='application/json', expected_status=200):
        """
        Helper method for sending a post to the server, defaulting to application/merge-patch+json content_type.
        Verifies the expected status and returns the response.
        """
        # pylint: disable=no-member
        response = client.post(self.search_api_url, data=json.dumps(json_data), content_type=content_type)
        assert expected_status == response.status_code
        return response