71-75 Shelton Street,London,WC2H 9JQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Asked Questions

General Questions

Read to know

Lived Experience (LE): Direct, first-hand experience of mental distress, illness, diagnosis and/or mental health services. This can be associated with Lived Experience of poverty, trauma and other forms of prejudice and discrimination (e.g. racism and ableism) (NSUN, 2021).
Lived Experience Leadership (LEL): A broad term used to describe what happens when people use their Lived Experience to change, shape or create something to benefit others in the broad field of mental health. (NSUN, 2021)

Progressing in the workplace can be challenging for some – we are here to connect others who have walked the career path before and can support you to become the leader you want to be, connectivity and peer support has a demonstratable beneficial evidence base for those we support – the same
principle applies when supporting other Lived Experience. Even the helpers need a little guidance and support sometimes!

Leadership within Lived Experience work is more of a conceptual framework rather than a single position. It’s about uplifting the voices of people who want to contribute their lived skills to a workplace, by distributing knowledge support and access to opportunity through the privilege and influence that others have gained. We distribute what we have learned evenly so the whole community can grow

Build a trusted network of leaders who have been in similar positions.

Increase your network of support by connecting with others working informed by Lived Experience. Designated Lived Experience roles raise expectations of what is possible for people who have lived experience and significantly contribute to reducing discrimination and prejudicial attitudes

FAQ

Read to know
There are THOUSANDS across the globe in paid and voluntary positions, there to utilise their lived experiences in a support, training, policy or strategic leadership capacity. Many are informed explicitly – meaning openly sharing parts of their journey. Some work implicitly and are guided by their past experiences of disadvantage, adversity, illness, disability, or persecution but do not openly share. Both are absolutely welcomed and okay! We would like to offer a space for everyone – this is why if needed you can select another name than the one you usually use to be on public display.

By communicating with other community members on our dedicated forums. As a collective we will usually know someone who has walked a similar path.

While we don’t exclusively list therapeutic services, what we do is provide a directory of those offering coaching, supervision and mentoring to support you to thrive at work. Many of our directory members come from other professional backgrounds alongside their own lived experiences so can support in a unique way.

Great to hear! Part of being a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Directory is development. We can provide access to specialist Leadership & Management training, Supervision Training and Workplace Wellbeing advice as well as Consultants who have senior level Management & Leadership and/or Business Psychology skills and are able to advise on strategy, culture and policy. Just use the Contact Us form for more details.

Yes, we are looking to collaborate with leading Lived Experience voices with specialism in their unique area of expertise. All our courses are designed to a CPD framework (soon to be accreditation) and reviewed by a panel of lived experience delegates prior to going online. We will host your content and spread the work about your learning opportunity through our established networks of Lived Experience Leaders. Please use the Contact Us form for more details.

Scroll to Top