workshops & events

** The Mental Health Advocacy and Leadership training, previously delivered in partnership with HCA, is currently being redeveloped and will soon be offered as two separate sessions. Proposed dates for these workshops in 2020 are: Lived Experience Advocacy – Thursday February 20th and Thursday July 30th; and Lived Experience Leadership – Thursday May 7th and Thursday October 15th ** 

This training is suited for lived experience advocates or representatives – consumers and carers – who are actively engaged in the mental health system. Participants of this course will learn strategies to improve their effectiveness and develop confidence to take on leadership roles or opportunities to participate at a more strategic or governance level. 

Themes covered:   

   *   the mental health system   *   fundamentals of lived experience perspectives   *   lived experience involvement and action   *   partnership and co-production   *   power, influence and leadership   *   advocacy and representative opportunities    

Cost: To be advised.

All tickets will have 10% GST added at the point of sale.  

2020 dates are: Thursday March 19th and Thursday August 20th [Adelaide CBD location]

Having a narrative for our lives is healing. There is power in knowing and living this in our own lives and there is power in sharing our stories and insights with others. When we share our lived experiences the purpose, audience, context and our vulnerability related to them are important considerations. We will explore how we share our stories safely, for ourselves and for the people that hear-read-witness them, valuing the perspective and strength they bring to our efforts for making sense and making a difference.    

This session will provide a foundation for honouring recovery journeys and sharing in ways that are safe, purposeful and geared for influence. It is for people with lived experience as a consumer or carer who may or may not be in a paid or representative lived experience role.

Themes covered:   

   *   exploring what we mean by and our experience of sharing stories safely   *   lived experience stories   *   story ‘politics’   *   individual and/or collective stories   *   our purpose for sharing   *   sharing to influence   *   public narratives as a leadership skill   *   the strength of our stories to drive change

Cost: $150 for waged members ($200 waged non-members) and $60 for unwaged/concession members ($80 unwaged/concession non-members).

All tickets will have 10% GST added at the point of sale.  

2020 dates are: Thursday April 9th and Thursday September 17th [Adelaide CBD location]

Increasingly co-production is talked about as a mechanism for engaging with people with lived experience and involving them in decisions that affect their lives. When people first grapple with co-production there can be a lot of what-if’s, questions on what it is, how to do it well and wondering if it is appropriate for their circumstance and why.

This session will provide people with an understanding of the value and values of co-production, reflection on each person’s role within the context of co-production as well as skills to participate in co-production processes. It is for anyone who has involvement or interest in co-production. Participants may or may not have lived experience.

Themes covered:   

   *   what co-production is and what it isn’t (plus all the other co-‘s)   *   values/principles of co-production   *   impact and value of co-production   *   ‘doing’ co-production   *   the importance of power   *   examples from South Australia and around the world   *   the challenge of co-production   *   skills and strategies of co-production   *   co-production in your context 

Cost: $150 for waged members ($200 waged non-members) and $60 for unwaged/concession members ($80 unwaged/concession non-members).

All tickets will have GST added at the point of sale.  

In partnership with the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Group, UniSA. 

2020 are yet to be scheduled

There are increasing ways in which consumers and carers are being involved in research activity that are beyond being the subjects of research.  Across health, people with lived experience are becoming more active in partnering with research teams at different stages of projects and activity.  This includes roles as advisors, co researchers and partners.  The National Health and Medical Research Council encourages research teams to improve their skills and processes of engagement and has guidelines in place.

This is an introductory level workshop which will help participants to learn about the effective use of research in their lived experience roles as well as being involved in co-producing research knowledge.  

This workshop for consumers and carers who are active as advocates, advisors, educators and peer workers who would like to know more about research activity and use. The session will be facilitated by members of the Activating Lived Experience Leadership Project team (Mark Loughhead, Heather Eaton and Ellie Hodges).

Themes covered:   

   *  different types of research project and study designs   *  asking a research question   *  levels of evidence and assessing the quality of studies   *  lived experience participation in research – how to be involved   *  setting research priorities, co research roles, and connecting with policy change   *

Cost: FREE 

More information coming soon.