10/11/2026
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is 'Lived Experiences Heard : Real Voices, Real Change'.
To celebrate this, Peter Molyneux spoke to Cheryl Pollard (Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada and a member of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Hallway Group) and Michael Ryan (Head of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery for the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and chair of the World Health Organisation’s Task Force on building lived experience capacity in the European Region.
Both Michael and Cheryl are members of the GLE Lived Experience Council.
The conversation focusses on the importance of moving beyond to conclusion and valuing lived experience alongside academic and professional forms of expertise so that it is shaping policies, programs and systems and is recognized as an equally valued form of knowledge.
In order to achieve this Michael and Cheryl feel that there is a need for fair compensation, access to training and development, clear career pathways and organizational cultures that recognize lived experience as a professional contribution in its own right because it is our human right to be heard and because it works.
Lived experience is not simply a story about the past. It’s a source of knowledge, leadership and innovation for the future. When real voices are genuinely heard, they have the power to transform not only individual lives but the systems and communities around them. That’s where real change begins.
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is 'Lived Experien...
