A night alone high up in the Himalayas with a thunderstorm outside was an unexpected but pivotal moment of Katie Larsen’s path as a leader and advocate of a mental health system informed by lived experience led approaches.
Katie, Mind’s Executive Director of Lived Experience, says that night was part of a challenging journey across Nepal, India, Africa and Southern Thailand she undertook 12 years ago, to short circuit a series of mental health crises she was living through. “That night lit up a little, little spark in me that said maybe I can trust myself and live with myself – and that was profound,” she said.
Katie shared her personal story at the 2024 One Door Mental Health Symposium to illuminate her conviction that people should lead their own mental health recovery.
“That whole trip gave me a space to move beyond the ‘what’ or ‘how’ of my mental health experience and progress to the ‘why’. It helped me understand my story, what had brought me to this point in life and how I could move through,” she said.
Katie doesn’t necessarily recommend people push themselves beyond their comfort zone like she did but says the experience cemented her conviction that people with mental health challenges should be supported to be the drivers of their wellbeing.
“The reason I’m so passionate about lived experience led services is because I think we all deserve the opportunity to explore and understand the ‘why’ of our situation – in ways that are safe and connected and that create space and time for us to trust ourselves and find a way through,” she said.
Developing and delivering lived experience-led models of mental health support is a key component of Katie’s work at Mind. These new services include LGBTIQA+ Aftercare, Connect SA, as well as the Healing Place and the newly established Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centres – both peer led (one consumer and one family and carer) support services recommended by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
Katie said proactive responses are required to work through the challenges of developing and delivering these paradigm changing services and drive forward lived experience-led ways of thinking.
“These challenges include the clinical ceiling; current clinical governance models are not set-up for lived experience models, so how can we work in partnership to overcome this challenge to offer alternatives within the system?”
Katie said the status quo and fear are also obstacles to overcome.
“Mental health systems were developed to contain, which makes it difficult to create change and shift. And then there is fear. A reality of pushing against systems of power and going against the status quo evokes fear. Lived experience work should prompt discomfort and challenge all of us, because that’s what system reform and transformation is.”
Katie and Mind were delighted to participate in this year’s One Door Mental Health Symposium, which was one of the first public engagements since Mind and One Door merged at the start of 2024.
Both organisations share a deep history of dedication to enhancing the wellbeing of people living with mental health challenges, and a commitment to providing comprehensive services driven by lived experience, research and other evidence-informed practices.
Katie’s One Door Mental Health Symposium presentation is available to watch here and below.