10/10/2026
🗣️ Lived experience is expertise.
Today, on World Mental Health Day, the WHO campaign “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change” calls for people with lived experience of mental health conditions to help shape the policies, services and decisions that affect their lives.
Experiencing mental health difficulties and seeking, receiving or struggling to access support can reveal barriers that professional training and research alone may overlook. Meaningful involvement means giving people opportunities to influence what happens next.
🎓 This matters in how we support our students, too.
Students bring different experiences, circumstances and support needs to university. Listening to their perspectives helps us understand barriers to seeking help, respond to the pressures they face, and shape more accessible and inclusive learning environments.
As a Psychology department, we want students to feel able to raise concerns with their personal tutors and access the University’s wellbeing support. Their voices should also help guide how we develop teaching and student support.
Supporting mental health means listening, responding and involving people in decisions that affect them. 💬
