Groups of people from different backgrounds who share their views and ideas.
Learn more: Learn morePeople who have experienced mental health challenges themselves and use this to help others.
Learn more: Learn moreLived experience refers to personal, first-hand experience of a particular health condition or life situation. This may include experiences of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder, as well as physical health conditions like multiple sclerosis or epilepsy.
Lived experience can include:
By recognising and valuing lived experience, healthcare services can better understand what truly matters to people and improve the care they provide.
People with lived experience often understand things that professionals may not always see. Their insights help improve mental health services, make care more compassionate, and support others who are going through similar experiences.
We listen by working closely with people who have experience through our Lived Experience Advisory Panels (LEAPs). These are groups of people from different backgrounds who share their views and ideas. They help us make our services better, fairer, and easier to use.
Your experiences help us to:
• Design services that meet real needs
• Make services easier to access for everyone
• Provide care that focuses on recovery and what matters to you
• Create a culture of kindness, respect, and working together
There are many ways to get involved, and you can contribute in a way that feels right for you. These include:
We can support you to take part. This includes help with translation, interpreters, and access to the internet. You may also be able to receive payment for your time and get travel or other expenses paid.
Whether you want to share feedback, join a panel, or simply learn more, we welcome your involvement.
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This is the term for people who have experienced mental health challenges themselves and use this insight to offer understanding, encouragement and hope to others.
This includes Peer Support Workers, Lived Experience Practitioners and other roles such as mentors.
As fully included members of the clinical team, they bring a new perspective that is shaped by real experience.
Peer Support is provided by people who have their own lived experience of mental health challenges and recovery. They use this experience to offer understanding, encouragement and hope.
Many of our services now offer peer support. If you'd like to find out more, please speak to the team supporting you and ask whether they have a Lived Experience Practitioner or Peer Support Worker.
An appointment is a safe, informal space where you can talk with someone who has their own lived experience of mental health challenges and recovery. Every appointment is different because it is shaped around what you need, but it may include:
Yes. Peer Support Workers follow the same confidentiality rules as the rest of the team. Information is only shared if there is a concern about safety.
Yes. Peer Support Workers receive professional training and ongoing supervision to support them in their role.
Read about the experiences of staff who work in a lived experience role.
I hit the wall with career burnout, resulting in a terrifying mental health crisis. After a slow slog of self-recovery, I wanted to focus my professional energy on the wide and often murky world of mental health and recovery.
Sarah, Mental Health Integrated Care Service (MHICS): Read moreA typical day for me can involve client work such as phone calls, video calls, face to face meetings, a walk in the park, a drink in a coffee shop, training supervision and attending meetings.
Marc, Liaison and Diversion Service: Read moreHaving permission to use our lived experience is a privilege – there are give and takes each day, and I learn from all my encounters with colleagues and clients.
Jennie, Intensive Management of Personality Disorder and Clinical Therapies Team (IMPACTT): Read moreI know that I wanted to be a part of mental health services and try to support other people who are struggling.
Molly, Service User Network (SUN): Read more
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