The Wisdom of Hindsight: Allies Reflections on Their Role in Supporting the Implementation of Expert by Experience Positions in Academia

Abstract

Experts by experience involvement in mental health education has consistently demonstrated positive attitudinal outcomes including a greater appreciation for recovery-focused practice. Mental health academic allies have played a crucial role in supporting implementation of expert by experience academic positions. To date the inclusion of their views in research is limited. The aim of this study was to explore and present allies’ reflections on their involvement in supporting expert by experience academic roles in relation to “hindsight” and “foresight.” A qualitative descriptive design was used, involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with allies who had supported the implementation of academic roles for experts by experience. Participants described the wisdom of hindsight. Based on their own experiences they emphasised the importance of, laying the groundwork, facilitating a supportive environment, contributing to meaningful, credible, and sustainable roles, and vision for the future as key to successful implementation. They also described a vision for the expansion of expert by experience roles in mental health education in the future. Allies’ reflections suggest the importance of preparation to facilitate a smooth as possible implementation process and enhance the likelihood of successful outcomes. The transition to recovery-focused mental health services requires the attitudes of health professionals to change. The potential of experts by experience to influence attitudinal change can be enhanced by understanding the experiences and reflections of academic allies.

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their sincere thanks to the research participants. Thanks for devoting your time to share your experiences of working with Experts by Experience in mental health education.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was granted by the University of Newcastle Health Research and Ethics Committee, approval number: H-2020-0007.

Authors’ contribution

All authors listed meet the authorship criteria according to the latest guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. all authors are in agreement with the manuscript. The contribution of authors is as follows: BH—Contributed to all aspects of project, design, preparation, data collection, data analysis and drafting and finalisation of manuscript. SG—Contributed to all aspects of project, design, preparation, data collection, data analysis and drafting and finalisation of manuscript. JS—Contributed to project design, literature review, data analysis and drafting and finalisation of manuscript. TW—Contributed to project design, literature review, data analysis and drafting and finalisation of manuscript. AH—Contributed to all aspects of project, design, preparation, data collection, data analysis and drafting and finalisation of manuscript

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.