I suffered a severe mental health breakdown at the end of 2018 with postnatal depression and psychosis, and part of my recovery became getting involved with the team that helped me in order to give something back. The first thing I did was coproduce a perinatal leaflet as a Recovery Partner for the NHS. When I started as an Expert by Experience Leader (EBEL) in March 2020, I was doing EBEL work on my days off from working in a Community Mental Health Team as a Peer Support Worker. Over those three years I have experienced a huge change in myself and my confidence has grown massively. Feeling that I have an equal voice in Open Mental Health is amazing, as I can contribute to and influence big strategic decisions using both my lived experience and my knowledge of the system.
Being an EBEL has given me an enormous number of skills, more confidence and plenty of space to reflect. I have built amazing working relationships, worked on governance and strategy with wonderful CEOs, developed my knowledge of the VCSE sector and I’ve found the area I really want to work in – co-production! This work has massively enriched my career as I have been able to use these new skills and experiences to go into patient and public voice roles on National programmes, sit on advisory panels and lived experience expert panels, undertake roles in research, start chairing meetings and events, work on recruitment panels and I have just been promoted to the role of Chair within an independent organisation in Maternity (Somerset Maternity Voices Partnership).
Spending three years working as an EBEL for OMH has been a massive privilege. I have spoken at conferences, helped present at Integrated Care Board meetings, helped interview and recruit many of the staff that work in OMH, contributed to dozens of workstreams and made changes on a system wide level. I’m so proud of myself and I can’t wait to keep seeing what the other EBEL’s keep achieving within OMH and how it continues to grow.
I would never wish my mental health breakdown on anyone but something so positive has come out of it. It planted a seed that has grown into a whole field. It has launched my career in co-production, and lit the fire in my belly to fight injustice with everything I can offer, and to continually strive for change and improvement to the system of those suffering with mental ill health. I have made lifelong memories and friendships within the brilliant team and I recommend being an EBEL to anyone who wants to use their lived experience to make powerful change in their community, Somerset and potentially even wider! 😊
– Laura Perry