Lived Experience Workforce Development Coordinators' Work in 2022-23

The Lived Experience Workforce Development Coordinators provide support, expertise, and leadership to the consumer and family/carer workforces, identifying and filling gaps, promoting self-determination, and elevating the voices of the lived experience disciplines.

How have we worked together?

Consumer-specific work in 2022-23 has included:

Consumer Workforce Reflective Circles: 

This program provided a safe and supportive environment for the workforce to share their experiences, insights, and challenges encountered during the course of their work. The reflective circles enabled professional growth, self-determination, reflection on areas for improvement and innovation, and a culture of connection and shared learning.

E-learning Package on Mental Health Policy and Consumer Perspective Human Rights: 

An online 60-minute course, created by Simon Katterl, empowers consumers with the knowledge and skills to advocate in the context of mental health policy and system reform.

Consumer Workforce Forum Planning: 

To ensure consumer perspective is being championed and integrated across the state, planning for a consumer workforce forum has begun. The forum will provide a platform for the consumer workforce to share their experiences, concerns, and wisdom.

Family/Carer specific work has included:

CLEW Forum Planning:

This forum facilitates vigorous and heartfelt dialogue and knowledge exchange on critical issues for the family/carer workforce. An informative and inspiring video summary was produced for the 2022 Forum. 2023’s CLEW Forum will be held in July to provide a platform for networking, collaboration and leadership.

‘Caring With’ Training (with Royal Children’s Hospital): 

This is an introduction to family/carer perspectives and is held in person over two days. These workshops focused on equipping the family/carer workforce with the skills and knowledge to connect with diverse worldviews, use lived experience intentionally, identify models and resources that support and further the family/ carer movement, and more.

Engagement and Support of the CLEW Network: 

A program fostering collaboration and sharing information vital to family/carer workers. This network is dedicated to promoting and developing family/carer perspective, strengthening the network’s impact and amplifying its collective voice. CMHL’s Family/Carer Workforce Development Coordinators have also collaborated in various externally-led family/carer LLEWs projects.

Collective/combined Work includes:

Courageous Conversations: 

These are aimed at embracing and encouraging open and honest dialogue around sensitive topics. Facilitated discussions and workshops were conducted with rotating guest speakers and experts from the consumer and family/carer movements, exploring challenging issues such as picking your lane, occupying space, different perspectives and working together. These sessions fostered empathy, and understanding, and promoted positive change across the lived experience sector.

Sector Meetings & Consultation with Services/Workforce: 

Regular contact with workers, services and organisations across the state provided opportunities to exchange ideas, address emerging challenges, and collectively engage with solutions. Through advocating for the workforces and actively promoting lived experience leadership we have encouraged the sector to remain progressive and responsive to both consumer and family/carer perspectives.

What is next?

Consumer Consultant Training

To further empower consumer consultants and enhance their leadership in ‘trickleup’ system reform, a training program was developed and delivered with Cath Roper and Wanda Bennetts. This program was developed following a needs analysis conducted with consultants in 2020/2021, and was delivered across 5 sessions throughout 2021/2022. Using adult learning principles the sessions explored the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise to actively lead in their roles. The sessions will be iterated upon and held again across the next 12 months.

Contribution to LLEWs Projects

CMHL workforce development coordinators are contributing to the LLEWs Workforce Development Projects. Subject matter expertise is offered through joint planning sessions, workshops and co-design groups, aiding a more comprehensive approach and impactful lived experience leadership across this exciting work.

Engagement and Expertise in Workforce Reform

Recognising the evolving landscape and the diversity of needs within a rapidly expanding workforce, we continue to foster strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and to promote systems change. Through policy analysis, research contribution, representation in relevant forums, we have been active in shaping present and future workforce professional development. Keeping lived experience principles at the forefront will aid workplace cultures and practices that encourage inclusivity, transparency, accountability, equity, and place human rights and the need for systemic change above the oft paralysing status quo. Better things are not only necessary, they are possible.