The Stratford Lecture provides an annual platform for lived experience leadership and its ability to drive and deliver mental health system reform. Mind Australia established this annual event in 2024 to honour the late Anthony Stratford’s immense contribution to the lived experience movement.
Anthony Stratford’s Legacy
Anthony, who passed away in March 2023, dedicated his life to advocating for a recovery and lived experience approach to supporting people with mental health challenges. Much of his journey from personal recovery to advocating for system change happened during his time working at Mind.
Each year, the Stratford Lecture invites a guest speaker to present on a critical issue related to lived experience leadership in the transformation of the mental health system.
2024 Stratford Lecture
The Inaugural lecture guest speaker (in 2024) was Ellie Hodges, a nationally recognised lived experience thought leader. Ellie’s lecture explored the need for high level system transformation that is informed and led by people with lived experience. You can watch the 2024 Stratford Lecture here.
2025 Stratford Lecture
The Mind Stratford Lecture and One Door Mental Health’s annual Symposium were held together, in Sydney, for the first time, in 2025. Mind and One Door’s shared commitment to research and thought leadership was a key factor in their decision to merge in 2024.
Both events explored the theme ‘From vision to action: driving meaningful change in mental health’.
The 2025 Stratford Lecture guest speaker was Helen Roennfeldt, a lived experience researcher and PhD candidate, whose work focuses on lived experiences of mental health crisis and crisis care. Helena’s own experience of crisis and psychiatric facilities has been the catalyst for her interest in the personal meanings of mental health crises and in how we can respond to crisis through the lens of lived experience to humanise crisis.” Watch the 2025 Stratford Lecture here
Anthony Stratford’s contribution has also inspired Mind’s annual Stratford Scholarship, which provides a $10,000 contribution annually to activities that support the continued development of an emerging lived experience leader.
The 2024 Stratford Scholarship recipient Mush McLoughlan (they/them) has had a long history of engagement with a variety of mental health services. Mush has used the scholarship to explore alternative peer responses to suicide and how these can be practiced through peer community building and knowledge sharing,
The 2025 Stratford Scholarship recipients KJ Hepworth and Tabitha Lean will develop a peer-led, free digital mental health resource based on the Surviving Cramond zine KJ made and distributed during their medical incarceration.