Consumer Representative Opportunities

Griffith University is seeking your invaluable insights from your lived experience to shed light on reasons behind the rise of involuntary psychiatric treatment in Queensland. Follow the link to find out more or to express interest in participating in interviews to share your experiences and recommendations for enhancing mental health services.

University of the Sunshine Coast is undertaking a study to investigate help-seeking behaviours for self-harm in young people. In particular, the study seeks to understand the facilitators and barriers to help-seeking for self-harm in young people.

They are recruiting:
• Young people (aged 15 to 24 years) with lived experience of self-harm
• Caregivers (aged 25 years or older) for a young person who has self-harmed
• Mental health professionals (aged 25 years or older).

Participation in this study will involve a 30- to 40-minute online survey and participants will be offered a participant payment of $20.00 cash (via bank transfer) for their time.

You can find out more about the study or express your interest in the study in the link: https://tinyurl.com/helpseeking4selfharm.

Sona Jerry is undertaking a research project with ANU on understanding the roles, and challenges faced by migrant consumer representatives in healthcare settings. It aims to examine the advocacy strategies they use, and the impact of these strategies on healthcare services. Special attention is given to the intersectionality of the consumers’ identities and the systemic barriers they encounter as well.

For data collection, Sona will be interviewing 10 participants who self-identify as migrants, and are consumer representatives regarding their motivations for entering the field, and the challenges they have experienced.

To participate, please fill in the form here.  

If you wish to contact Sona her details are: phone on 0420573681, or via email at [email protected].

The Office of the Chief Psychiatrist is leading a project to support mental health service responses for individuals in custody who need treatment for mental illness in an inpatient unit. Please find more information here.

Please find project information here.

Join ISPS Australia https://ispsaustralia.com/ to journey together with us through the power of conversation and discussion as we explore the dynamic topic of ‘Early Psychosis – to medicate or not’.

With international guest speaker Oryx Cohen (Lived Experience Leader and Chief Executive officer National Empowerment Centre, Massachusetts). Board Directors Amit Banerjee (WA Psychiatrist) and Tara Coppins (SA Clinical Psychiatrist) 

Join us on Wednesday 31st July 6pm-8pm AWST 8-10 AEST 

Register on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/early-psychosis-to-medicate-or-not-tickets-922718775697?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=1

All registrants receive a copy of the recording, to watch in their own time if unable to attend in person. 

This is to invite you to participate in the Family/Carer Lived Experience Workforce survey (GU ref no: 2023/866).

This anonymous survey aims to hear from Family/Carer Lived Experience workers or volunteer representatives in QLD mental health services in the last five years. This research aims to map the scope and roles of the QLD Family/Carer Lived Experience workforce as well as investigate your experiences of participating in this workforce. The survey should take no more than 35 minutes to complete.

The research aims to build on the Victorian Rising Together study, which identified Family/Carer workforce issues, challenges, and supports. A copy of the report can be found here: Rising Together

Through this research, we hope to understand the experiences, needs and challenges of the QLD Family/Carer Lived Experience workforce (including voluntary representatives) to make recommendations to further support this important workforce.

This study is being supported by Next Generation Researcher Network Capacity Building Funding Award as part of the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation (NHMRC Special Initiative in Mental Health, GNT2002047)

We hope to represent as many voices of the Family/Carer Lived Experience workforce – so please consider participating.

To offer your views, please click on this survey link here.

The QLD Mental Health Commission is undertaking an important piece of work to strengthen engagement and partnering with people with lived-living experience through the development of a Charter in partnership with the Lived Experience Leadership and Advocacy Network (LELAN).

The Charter will be co-designed with Queenslanders with lived-living experience of mental illness, alcohol and other drug harm and suicidality, and their family, carers and kin; lived-living expertise sector leaders; and Commission staff. The co-design process will involve engagement through webinars, a survey and co-design sessions — both in-person and online.

Developing the Charter is an important step to ensure people with lived-living experience of mental illness, harm from alcohol and other drug use and suicidality, including their families, carers, kin and other supporters, are engaged in system reform. This includes in policy, planning, funding, service delivery and governance.

Want to find out more?

The Commission is holding a webinar on 1 August 2024 from 11:00am to 12:00pm to provide information about the Charter, including an outline of the co-design process and ways to be involved. Find out more about the charter and register here for the webinar.

Please note that the information webinar does not provide paid participation for people with lived-living experience who attend.

Further information about how the Commission is strengthening lived-living experience governance, leadership and partnering can be found on the Commission’s website here.