Your ideas, insights and experiences matter. Through our lived experience participation work, we're making sure that the voices of service users are at the heart of everything we do at Solent Mind.

What is lived experience participation?

Lived experience participation means involving people with mental health conditions across our work. By sharing your experiences, you can help shape our services across Hampshire.

To meet our service users' needs, we must work with them to make sure their opinions and ideas are valued.

We want to hear from as wide a diversity of service users as possible, ideally hearing voices from across all of our services and local communities. If you're a friend, family member, or a carer of someone who accesses Solent Mind services, we want to hear from you as well.

Register your interest

How can I get involved?

There are a number of ways that you can get involved in our lived experience participation work.

Opportunities include:

• Providing feedback on key projects, like our new strategy
• Taking part in workshops
• Attending events
• Join one of our local or central organisation wide Lived Experience Participation Groups
• Gathering data and insights about our services
• Creating content and sharing your story
• Interviewing new staff and being part of our recruitment process
• And lots more

"Sitting on interview panels showed me that I can have an opinion which is valid, respected and appreciated and rebuilt my sense of being involved in teamwork. 

Speaking at staff conferences has returned my confidence with public speaking. 

I have become a voice for mental health lived experience, an ally of people with physical disabilities and an advocate for voluntary work."

- Simon

Share your views to help improve our services

We want your voice to be heard across our work, which is why we hold regular meetings every 4 to 6 weeks, both online and in person. These are informal sessions, where we talk openly and honestly about different services and topics related to mental health, looking to celebrate successes and create change where it is needed.

The topics of conversation are chosen by our service users, ourselves and our NHS and local authority service delivery partners.

You can join meetings in person by coming to our offices at 15/16 The Avenue, Southampton, or online via Zoom. Please email chenderson@solentmind.org.uk if you would like to get the Zoom link or find out more.

"It’s validating to have my voice heard, create some positive change, meet people who have had similar experiences and give back to the organisation that supported my recovery."

- Solent Mind service user

Register your interest 

If you're a current or former service user of Solent Mind and you'd like to get involved, please complete this form.