Before lived experience experts were known as key to mental health research and policy, and before there was greater general awareness of what “Public and Patient Involvement” / service users / Lived Experience experts can contribute, mad activists movements and other such survivor groups were fighting for recognition and shared power in decision making. These groups have been key in shaping the landscape for lived experience, but sometimes their methods and language are contested as "controversial". 

In this webinar, we will reflect on these movements and how they helped shape “expertise by experience” as we know it. We will explore the role of lived experience in shaping the future of mental health policy, practice, science and advocacy, as well as what we need to understand to make this future a reality.

This is a key issue in decentralising power in global health and a core strategic aim for the Global Mental Health Action Network, articulated through our 2035 Vision. The webinar takes place as part of Global Public Health Week 2025, with the theme: “Redefining Equity: Decolonizing Public Health for a Healthier World”.