Through lived and living experiences, we identify people who express themselves by sharing their experiences and how they impact mental health states and recovery. This way, migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum can communicate their experiences and share them respectfully.
SMTS uses the term “people with lived and living experience” or “people with LLEx” to describe a person or an individual who identifies as:
The SMTS will seek to engage a personal experience with mental health and recovery, supporting others with similar experiences of challenges around wellbeing and recovery. Our outcomes are measured in terms of knowledge, sustainability, organisational culture improvement, efficiency, and productivity of the program to the targeted population and consumers to:
The evidence from the National & State Guidelines shows that LLEx engagement has benefits for individuals or a person that:
Some of the benefits for staff & organisations:
The SMTS is a design strategy to engage CMRH partners through collaboration, partnership, and engagement.
The SMTS formed Lived and Living Experience Advocacy and Advisory Committee, interested in sharing their LLEx to improve mental health and wellbeing services. The Lived and Living Experience Advocacy and Advisory Committee include health professionals, community leaders, and young people from diverse backgrounds.
From 4:00 pm-6:30 pm (Sydney-Melbourne time) every second week of the Month online through zoom or the other media or face-to-face seminars.
For upcoming dates, please book through our powerdiary schedules.
Our coordinators, counsellors, projects, and community engagement officers co-chaired the forums or seminars.
We are open to sharing stories about your experiences in CMRH forums, workshops, conferences, and seminars. Sometimes, experiences are complex from individual to individual, and expressing them may differ. The telling story is complex when people face mental health challenges or issues. When describing your feelings or concerns, people think you are making things up; if you don’t have the correct diagnosis from health professionals that support your problems or challenges.
The SMTS allows you to speak up and say things you think and don’t have a right to talk about or shouldn’t bring up in a clinical or support setting.
Our fundamental goal is to focus on valuing those experiences to shift you away from that mindset. It’s important to share what you feel, how you are experiencing life, and how your emotions and mental health impact your life. Whether or not you have a diagnosis should not impact how and what you share or how your treatment provider or health professional listens.
For example, in one study, patients asked to share based on lived experience were better able to communicate what they felt and seek support from their peers. The interaction and openness resulted in better quality care, communication, and relationships between staff and patients.
Sharing lived experiences allows you to:
The expectations during the forums or seminars:
Lived experience | health.vic.gov.au
History of Consumer lived experience work in Victoria (vmiac.org.au)
Centre for Mental Health Learning Victoria (CMHL): About peer work
Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC): Consumer workforce
Tandem: Carer Lived Experience Workforce (CLEW)
Career Perspective Supervision Framework
Mental health lived experience engagement framework | health.vic.gov.au
Resources | Lived Experience Australia
The National Lived Experience Workforce Development Guidelines – National Mental Health Commission
