In December 2021, VTMH held its first Lived Experience Community of Practice. This community of practice supports a diverse cohort of practitioners from a variety of workplace settings to come together and exchange ideas and experiences on a broad range of issues relating to lived experience, cultural diversity, and mental health.
The group is run bi-monthly on Microsoft Teams and aims to:
- Discuss, develop and promote strategies to amplify the voices of diverse lived and living experience within mental health care workplaces and community-based settings.
- Discuss and identify enablers and systemic barriers that diverse LLE practitioners face when trying to contribute, generate and sustain change (e.g. enablers such as supportive management and whole-of-organisation approaches to embedding lived and living experience; and barriers such as tokenistic consultation).
- Learn from diverse LLE practitioners’ stories of challenge and triumph when navigating workplaces and the mental health sector as part of the Royal Commission’s reform.
- Share knowledge relating to fundamental aspects underpinning LLE work (e.g., self-care, values, co-reflection, using an intersectional lens, practicing cultural responsiveness).
The group is led by VTMH’s Consumer Consultant, Naomi Chapman, and is supported by staff in the unit, including VTMH’s Carer Consultant Olivia Fletcher, and consultants with their own lived experience as consumers, supporters or carers.
Having facilitated the Lived Experience Community of Practice for almost two years, Naomi had the opportunity to share her learnings at The Mental Health Services Conference (TheMHS) in Adelaide last year.
During her presentation, “Dare to Care: Human Rights and Compassion in the Workplace,” Naomi mentioned the development of the community of practice program as an example of a platform where LLE workers reflect on their practice and learn from the intersection between diversity and lived experience. LLE workers are invited to bring their various lenses of their experience to conversations about how mental health, cultural diversity, and lived experience are intertwined in wellbeing challenges, recovery, and ways care services are structured to meet the needs of diverse communities.
The overall goal of this CoP is to support the lived and living experience workforce to influence practice within the sector in ways that diverse lived and living experiences are centred, exploring ways to create a more culturally responsive and inclusive system.
Membership to the CoP is open to individuals working as lived and living experience workers in public mental health and wellbeing services across Victoria. We invite you to read the Terms of Reference before joining the CoP so you can make an informed decision. We are looking forward to hearing from those who would like to join us. Link to Terms of Reference.