The benefits of listening to ‘lived experience’ have been acknowledged for many years. Indeed there is abundant literature and public policy which supports the infusion of ‘lived experience’ into the training and education of mental health professionals. However, the experience for both participants and trainers has been varied. Feedback from training participants who hear people’s lived experience stories is often glowing and deeply appreciative, however as Meehan and Glover (2007) noted the experience is not always so fabulous for peer trainers. Responding to such experiences, and Meehan and Glover’s (2007) call for “ongoing critical review of the way in which consumer educators are engaged in the education and training of mental health professionals”, this paper discusses the development of a peer educator engagement process, rolled out in the Richmond Fellowship WA’s Hearing Voices Network of WA. The process aimed to honour the lived experience of the peer educators involved in the education of professionals who were enrolled in learning a systematic method for understanding voices (Maastricht Interview). The aim was to privilege process over content, working to minimise power differentials between participants and peer educators and create a space of safety via invitation, engagement, and support. This process was subsequently successfully modified and used within the tertiary setting in a mental health masters in recovery program. It is believed that this process provides an exemplar of best practice for involving lived experience in the training and education of mental health professionals.

With significant disparities between mental health and wellbeing in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) communities compared to the general Australian population, the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (Hunter Institute) is committed to ensuring that work with individuals and communities is inclusive of people who identify as LGBTI.
In 2013 the Hunter Institute was invited to participate in the National LGBTI Health Alliance MindOUT! LGBTI Champion Pilot project. The project has provided the opportunity for the Hunter Institute to examine its current practices and engage further with a variety of organisations working within mental health and suicide prevention in LGBTI communities.
As part of this project a resource has been developed to support media when reporting on suicide and mental illness in LGBTI communities as part of the Mindframe National Media Initiative.
This resource was developed following a comprehensive consultation period to assess the needs of groups in reporting suicide and mental illness and determine the type of resource/s that may support these discussions.
This presentation will discuss the development of this resource and how inclusive practice has been promoted within the Hunter Institute including some of the challenges and opportunities when implementing these changes within a project-based environment.

One way to promote nursing students’ understanding of recovery and recovery-oriented mental health services is the active involvement of consumers in their education. The aim of this paper is to enable participants to understand how consumers can be incorporated into the education of nurses.

A collaborative project between nursing academics and consumers produced an innovative approach to prepare nursing students for practice. The consumers consented to video-recording their interactions with the academics, whilst discussing their experiences of recovery and recovery-focused services. An online, interactive learning module comprising short film clips of the interactions, trigger questions, and the opportunity for students to audio-record their responses to the consumers’ concerns, was developed. The module was followed by a ‘live’ simulation whereby students practised their therapeutic skills whilst discussing recovery with each of the consumers, followed by the consumers’ feedback to the students.

The students reported overwhelmingly that the experience provided a level of realism not obtained from previous learning activities, such as role plays with fellow students or viewing interactions of actors simulating consumers’ experiences. The consumers reported that the project was an empowering experience that validated the importance of the lived experience in the preparation of nursing students for recovery-focused practice.