Lived Experience Forum

[Daisydreamer]

Welcome @AussieRecharger! So great to see you here

[complex]

I can't say I know a lot about the changes. I was in hospital about a decade ago or more and would like to know how the changes will impact people who might not have a say about their hospitalisation as that can be pretty rough!

[BigFeelsClub]

Kia ora koutou!

I'm Graham Panther.

So I run The Big Feels Club, an online club for anyone who feels sad or scared a bunch of the time. It’s ‘real content about mental health, made by people who’ve been there too’.

And I also work with government and mental health agencies, as a consultant, designing and evaluating services.

To borrow a phrase from Mary O’Hagan (one of New Zealand’s great consumer leaders!) I started my career in mental health as a service user. Basically, at age 23 I had a big old nervous breakdown, and all my work since then has been an attempt to make these sorts of experiences less lonely, and better understood.

More specifically, I’m here to talk a bit about the changes coming to Victoria’s mental health system as a result of the Royal Commission into Mental Health, which I was a witness to. Plus whatever else you all want to dive into??

[frog]

Hi @Daisydreamer @cloudcore @floofycloud and welcome Graham @BigFeelsClub 

I am interested in how the macro level discussions/recommendations at the Royal Commission will play out on the ground. When you were participating Graham, did you have a sense that real change is possible?

[cloudcore]

Hi everyone! 

I am cloudcore and I'm a peer support worker here at SANE. I have a professional background in mental health but also have my own lived experiences dealing with mental illness and navgating the system. I'm so excited to learn more about the upcoming changes.

Welcome @complex , @frog, @Shaz51  and @AussieRecharger 

[AussieRecharger]

What are you most interested in hearing about tonight?

I love the peer support model but i find agencies are already falling into the trap of employing people for peer support close to their HQ or hubs and are not looking for more online resources and backup resources. Why restrict peer support to a radius of 100k's from your main office?  Does your team at the big feels feel like more could be done to allow services to be done online?

How do you feel about a membership-based service like RACV but for your health?  You pay $100, you get access to help whenever you need it including carers and respite and peer worker support?

[Daisydreamer]

Brilliant question @frog 🙂 We might flag this one for @BigFeelsClub, looking forward to hearing your thoughts Graham

[BigFeelsClub]

When you were participating Graham, did you have a sense that real change is possible?

Hi @frog !

GREAT question. I was involved as a witness toward the end of the process, so late last year. I do have a sense that change is possible - with a few things I'm particuarly hopeful for, and a few things I'm shall we say cautiously optimistic about. Will definitely speak more on that tonight as we go.

[chibam]

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@Daisydreamer wrote:

To start off, we would love to hear from you: What are you most interested in hearing about tonight?

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Wow. So many things.

But to start with:

The term "psychosocial" gets thrown about an awful lot in all the modern talk about system reform. I believe that the royal inquiry tries to substitute the phrase "wellbeing support" for this term.

I want to know: In plain english, what does this mean?

I have a real interest in what I call "real world help", as opposed to "mental health help". In other words, if you are being bullied, a helper makes the bullies go away; if you are single, a helper tries to set you up with a suitable boyfriend/girlfriend; if you are unemployed, a helper sends you to your proper job; ect., ect.

Is that what "psychosocial support"/"wellbeing support" actually means? @BigFeelsClub 

[Kermit]

Hi there,

I'd like to know if there are changes to enable people to access mental health care they can afford.

I'm gratefui I can access and afford private mental health specialist appointments but I know others aren't so fortunate.