— Discussion and Analysis

We argue this extends to fostering critical understandings of dominant discourses about distress, trauma, diagnosis, and intervention as a routine component of social work education. The Valuing Lived Experience Program (VLEP) described in this article within the Curtin University School of Allied Health aims to meaningfully embed the voices of people with lived experience of mental distress, trauma, and service use into the education of tertiary students and academics. Lived experience education in social work is vitally important and requires appropriate resourcing, clear purpose and principles, and attention to the democratisation of knowledge in order to achieve epistemic justice. In this article, the authors describe and contextualise the VLEP as a contemporary example of how lived experience in social work education can occur and be developed.

Implications:

• Meaningful participation of people with mental health lived experience is important to social work education.
• Lived experience education needs to be underpinned by clear ethical and theoretical principles for teaching and learning.
• Programs that rigorously engage with lived experience in mental health education can make a positive contribution to critical understandings of mental distress.

The growth and maturity of peer work is at a point where its further development and policy structures are intersecting with broader disability sector reforms, leading to new understandings and acknowledgement of the value of quality peer worker. There is now good evidence that peer work is an effective and high-quality intervention, and that mental health services require new approaches, such as peer work, in order to deliver effective services.

The editorial working group included of representatives from both Mind Australia and Flourish Australia. It consisted of: Janet Meagher, Tim Fong (Flourish Australia), Fay Jackson (Flourish Australia), Erandathie Jayakody (Mind Australia) and Anthony Stratford (Mind Australia), and was supported by Kim Jones with administrative assistance.

Key individuals and organisations were invited to write an original paper for the book. Authors are predominantly experts by experience. They have lived through and thrived (not just survived) in the experience of recovery from mental health challenges; they are recognised for using the insights and expertise from their personal expertise to inform their work and are known for doing so in paid professional roles. They have documented their work and experience in the paid lived experience workforce and research with eloquence, courage and professionalism.

In addition to the contributing authors, approximately forty-five peers across Australia contributed to the book by participating in a workshop to discuss key issues and future directions on peer work.