Incorporating lived experience perspectives in mental health care fosters a stronger sense of hope, empowerment and social inclusion for individuals seeking support1. This highlights the need for more collaborative approaches in designing and delivering mental health services, ensuring that lived experience voices actively shape suicide prevention and reform responses. By prioritising lived experience insights, we can create more relevant, effective and empathetic support systems that truly resonate with individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
Safer Care Victoria is actively supporting services in adopting the Zero Suicide Framework. As recommended by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the framework integrates lived and living experience voices throughout its seven domains and implementation. This commitment includes the participation of the lived experience workforce in improvement teams and faculty roles, and at available levels of decision-making to ensure their meaningful involvement. Additionally, managers, directors and executive teams are encouraged to prioritise lived and living experience engagement, making this focus essential for embedding meaningful, transformative and sustainable change.
Through a phased partnership-driven approach, Safer Care Victoria fosters strong relationships among healthcare services, individuals with lived and living experience, and policymakers. This presentation is geared towards those interested in suicide prevention and response. Attendees will gain practical insights into how collaboration with individuals with lived and living experience can foster meaningful, lasting improvements in healthcare practice and suicide prevention. This presentation is essential for those committed to understanding the transformative power of authentic lived experience partnership, as we move together toward a future where suicide prevention is embedded across all levels of mental health services.