— Discussion and Analysis

Contributions were gathered from August 2020 until January 2021. This report is explicitly plural. Its intention is to honour and reflect the diversity in experiences and positions expressed by contributors rather than provide a neat narrative. As such, it includes many quotes - some of which may contradict one another, or offer another angle.

The term ‘Leadership’ is contentious. It can validate, invalidate, excite, irritate and bore people. The phrase ‘Lived Experience Leadership’ can broadly be used to encompass initiatives and situations where people with lived experience are involved in organising and/or influencing… whether that is as part of a named (and paid, or voluntary) role or not, whether it is seen or unseen, whether it involves a few people or thousands, whether it’s involvement, co-production, research, peer support, community development, media, training, organising, writing, activism, policy.

In the video, consumers imagine a new world of mental health care that recognises that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’, where most acute beds are in an array of community settings and committed to healing “through strengths-based solutions, focused therapies and support”, and nature is recognised as an integral component of healing. In this future, co-design, co-production and collaboration are the foundation of the treatment service system, and the predominant group of workers are peer workers and therapists who have a holistic approach to therapy, all Medicare funded. An exciting development, they say, is the establishment of a collaborative centre which brings together consumers, carers, researchers and clinical services to undertake research on the best trauma- informed models of intervention and treatment – with a big focus on the impact of the social determinants of health, including housing and jobs.

This article discusses the benefits, both to the individual and to the public, of involving persons with lived experience in service delivery, development and leadership.