Mental Health Service Staff on Sharing Lived Experience in the Workplace

ABSTRACT

Over the past three decades, “lived experience” designated roles in mental health services in Australia have increased. However, the lived experience of staff in roles not designated in this way is often hidden or unacknowledged. This qualitative study included 33 participants employed in a range of roles at two Victorian mental health services, including 10 social workers. Interviews explored staff perspectives regarding the sharing of lived experience by staff with colleagues and supervisors. Concept analysis identified conflicting ways of thinking about lived experience, which influenced when and how staff shared and how they responded to sharing by other staff. These findings suggest the need to explicitly address the purpose and value of sharing lived experience in the mental health workplace, to better support staff and service users. Recommendations for social workers and their colleagues, working at all levels of the mental health system, are provided.

IMPLICATIONS

• The perspectives and experiences of mental health service staff suggest room for improvement in the valuing and inclusion of staff with lived experience, which may have benefits for service-user experiences of support.

• Promoting the value of sharing lived experience to reflective-practice and service reform is consistent with core social work values and, thus, the responsibility of all social workers, supervisors, and educators.

KEYWORDS:

• Lived Experience
• Leadership
• Mental Health
• Mental Health Personnel
• Mental Health Services
• Stigma
• Self-disclosure
• Organisational Development
• Mutual Sharing
• Mutual Support
• Professional Role
• Personal Lived Experience
• Power Differential
• Colleague Relationships
• Social Workers
• Workplace Relationships

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the members of the project research advisory group for their guidance in the project design and conduct and the participants for sharing their experiences.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Government [Research Training Program scholarship].