[jessicabyrne]

Thank you for the very interesting and valuable readings and discussion this week. These were really well done, thought provoking and comprehensive. Just briefly touching on the readings, I enjoyed and benefited from the ‘The Angry Consumer: Embracing Difficult Conversations’(Jones & Cutler 2018). This was pertinent and relevant to anyone who is passionate and cares strongly about something i.e. anyone who has a lived experience of something. If someone is passionate, this will be expressed with opinion, gesture, facial expression, and basically a strong reaction to things. Workplace rules and culture often prefer those who stay neutral. Those who do become emotionally involved in board room meetings(if they ever get their foot in the door in the first place) can be labelled as unstable or told to calm down, favouring those who have no real personal investment in an issue and so can remain neutral in the their physical responses. This article highlights the dangers of these critical judgements, both personally and publically, acknowledging them as damaging and retraumatising to people who are contributing their time and opinions. Worse still, this may result in the personal disengagement of the very people who can benefit the system the most with their ideas and wisdom. The advice in the article to people who are in a situation where this is becoming, or seen to be becoming problematic, is to validate, commit, value and work through ideas together. This reading complimented the class. The discussion and themes were highly thought provoking, engaging and relevant. There is a lot to consider when thinking about the changing language, and I will be considering and reconsidering this for quite some time yet. Lyn Mahboub, the speaker for week 5, was extremely insightful and provided a mosaic of ideas positioned in a way to make us stop and consider everything from our assumptions to the very fabric that builds them, from the words we hear and say to the artefacts that build our imaginations. Lyn Mahboub highlighted the value of critical social views in many different disciplines. People with lived experience are naturally good critical social theorists as the problems with the system have been thrust upon them (us), so it is a natural response to recoil or rise up against these very impositions that has caused so much pain and heartache. It has been mentioned in the discussions and class before, a tension exists between critical theories and transformational leadership, with the latter advocating positive change. The two must, at least in a utopian world where madness reigns, be able to coexist, but they seemingly are definitely two separately theoretical beings with their own habitat and form. They cannot be totally intertwined due to the competing assumptions. I would love to know what other people thought of the readings and the class.
I am very grateful for the resources provided this week. The handouts, slides and discussion were an extremely rich source of information, that I will definitely be delving deeper into, and I believe this week’s work will be instrumental in helping me shape my project. Thank you!

[jessicabyrne]

I enjoyed the class, week 4, and felt very grateful to have the opportunity to hear Dr Louise Byrne-Clarke speak about some very pertinent issues. I have been fortunate to have heard her presentations at several mental health conferences previously and recognise and appreciate her as one of the key shapers and makers of the of the lived experience movement.
I have been inspired by her vast volume, depths, and scope of Dr Byrne-Clarkes’ literary vocal range and prodigious influence. Dr Byrne-Clarke’s clarity and purpose was evident in the class, emphasising clearly the importance of the document, ‘Australia’s National Mental Health Commission’s Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Development Guidelines,’ This document has come about through extensive consultation of key mental health bodies and advisory groups through the Commission instigating Action 29 of the ‘Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan’, which again is another central piece of reform guidelines.
Importantly, Dr Byrne-Clarke emphasised where and how to find information, and ways to link this document to relevancy in our daily practice. We can take this comprehensive document, and, with the blessing and urging of Dr Byrne-Clarke, implement strategies to apply this to asserting our parameters and boundaries as lived experiences workers in a clear, safe way with a goal to prevent being co-opted by other interest groups or working in unsafe way, while being able to point to validation of the Lived Experience (LE) role as transformational change agents. I agree that the summary document was much more reader friendly than the full blown guidelines, although I am sure this extra detail serves its duty if required.
There were many relevant points made, including suitability of candidates adopting more senior LE positions: they must have bona fide experience connecting with the wider lived experience movement, and not take a position as coming out with personal lived experience for the first time. Similarly, any positions which are considered speciality areas of experience, like drug and alcohol, homelessness or LGBTQIA+ need to also have an experience with the mental health system. These are good points as there is some confusion in industry with positions potentially being filled without the relevant experiences or levels of reflection or connection with the LE movement, so of course would result ultimately taking the position away from someone that could benefit the movement, and of course, people who receive support. This clarity is essential to protect the integrity of the LE movement. I also appreciate the intentions to ensure the LE movement can have multiple entry points rather than enforcing as essential any specific formal training. I am interested to read other people’s thoughts in this discussion forum. No pressure, but people have seemed to go very quiet in the discussions . Imagine how many ideas we could bounce around together if we all put our thoughts here. I would love to read them. I am looking forward to the next class and hopefully reading some discussions as I would like to glean your wisdom and learn from you all .

[jessicabyrne]

Hi everyone, again!
Yes, I agree Emma, it is really difficult to apply the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) perspective on ourselves and on our own perspectives. Mark that was an interesting point you made that it would be worth reflecting on our own our own project proposals and see whether they were from an AI perspective or largely critical lens. I will have to re-look at mine closely for this. I think it will take constant reminding to apply AI as we are trained, especially in higher study to critique and find improvement through looking at flaws, rather than making improvements by amplifying excellence. I really appreciate in the class the simplicity of the phrase shared by Dr Dietra Hawkins ‘What is true? What is good? and What is possible?’ This is easy to remember and provides a structure for AI. As I was reflecting on this, I could apply these principles everywhere, including interpersonal situations, and I am sure that it will give better results. As was said in the lecture by Dr Dietra Hawkins, blame does not ever change a system. It just leads to defensiveness and disengagement.
Reading the comments by Emma and Rob was good to reinforce my takeaway from the last class. I will be reflecting on the concepts in AI for some time yet, as it is so simple, yet to put into practice requires intentionality and deliberateness, as well as ongoing reminding as a critiquing mentality is so entrenched in us and the world.

Reading ’The This Book of Appreciative Inquiry’(Hammond 1996), I liked ‘The Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry,’ I am always saying or thinking ‘don’t make assumption’, but we so whether we do anyway like it or not, so it might be better for me to just examine my assumptions, or to look at the assumptions of others and provide examples of the okay assumptions. Again, this would be a demonstration of showing what works, rather than what does not. There are 8 assumption here which are apparently okay for AI, so that is quite a lot to work with anyway😊. An assumption is something that you accept as true without question or truth. This then would fit into the other reading, ‘The Appreciative Inquiry and Culture Change: A Positive Revolution’(Whitney, Cooperrider, Garrison, Moore p8, year unknown) which describes an example of zealots making an oath to Appreciative Inquiry. I prefer the term ‘wildflowers’ over ‘grassroots change’, I have not heard this term before. Thank you all again for all of the learnings so far. I am looking forward to class 4 on Friday😊.

[jessicabyrne]

Hi, everyone, again. Thank you for your interesting forum posts 😊.
Yes, I agree Emma, there are a lot of overlaps regarding pressures people in various oppressed groups have faced. I also think that it is very wise to acknowledge unintentional hurt that any discussions highlighting similarities between different groups with a history of oppression may inadvertently cause, as they may be perceived as disrespectful or dismissive, if some sensitivities are overlooked. This is something I also grapple with: how to approach similarities of different groups without inadvertently disregarding an aspect of difference. For example, I would love an acknowledgement at the start of meetings of the contribution of people with Lived Experience and also the hurt caused by the health systems to people who have used the services. However, this of course could detract from the significance of Welcome to Country, which is not what anyone would want. So maybe a Lived Experience acknowledgement could be done in a different way or time. It is very important that everyone is consulted and feels happy with any significant decisions like that. A valuable point that was made after the breakout rooms in the group discussion is it necessary to know who our allies are and to align together. The groups with a shared history of oppression are our allies. If we are mindful to show respect and autonomy of differences and have clear collective goals to progress rather than competing for resources, then it is more likely can move ahead and achieve them.
The Black Dog Institute resources were very useful for me. I was excited to see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander report ‘We are not the problem, we are part of the solution: Indigenous Lived Experience Project Report’. I think this report will be very useful to guide my project in relation to references process, and themes, despite focused on a different Lived Experience. All of the other readings were also very interesting. There is a lot to reflect on in them. I will be thinking about them for some time, especially the Continuum on Becoming an Antiracist, Multicultural Institution, which was a useful guide.
As with Brooke, I enjoyed the breakout rooms and getting to know a bit about the other fellows. I too appreciated the gardener video. Simplicity is the most effective way to make a point but can be the most difficult thing to achieve.
The Embrace Framework for Multicultural Health in Australia had some very useful resources to help support people in distress which included translation in many languages. I am looking forward to the next forum 😊. See you there everyone!

[jessicabyrne]

Hi everyone! Thank you, Kath, for sharing some of your experiences in the class discussion forum. It is good we are all working together to improve things for the future.
I was in awe learning about the extensive achievements and galaxy of published research on the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) website. I am truly grateful to be learning about these advances from the best.
Reading “Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care: A Perspective on the Past, Present and Future”(Davidson, Rowe, DiLeo, Bellamy, & Delphin-Rittmon, 2021), extended my understanding of recovery through citizenship. I appreciated how such a complex idea was whittled to the simplicity of the visual aid, showing citizenship as a developed stage of recovery (Fig.1, p 5). This article explains how gaining citizenship requires true inclusionary opportunities throughout the entire community. This inclusion must be available to everyone, and, in turn, is only made possible by everyone. This framework promotes recovery as a community responsibly. I found this reading very helpful to picture what is often missing from recovery.
Interestingly, the term ‘behavioural health’ is not a term I have frequently seen in relation to recovery. I have, however, often seen the terms mental and physical health, self-actualisation, and social inclusion. This prompted me to explore a little more about behavioural heath in the literature, and again, this will add to my understanding of health and recovery.
Another set reading, ”The Politics of ‘People with Lived Experience’ Experiential Authority and the Risks of Strategic Essentialism”(Voronka, 2016), explores the evolving interplay and complexities, both from within and outside the lived experience collective, as well as the impact on and from various ways lived experience is viewed by others and ourselves, individually, and collectively. Citing Fellows & Razack (1998), Voronka (2016, p 199) warns the aggregate ‘people with lived experience’ to be mindful not to replicate the same oppressive problems of existing systems of power if we do gain the ‘respectability’ of inclusion and acceptance of those in authority. Wise words.
Thank you everyone for such a great first class! I am looking forward to Class 2 😊. See you all Friday!

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