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The Lived Experience Project

The Lived Experience Project, originally developed and run at the University of Western Australia, provides students with training and opportunities to share their lived experience of mental health issues and personal challenges with other students in a safe and supportive way.

We run one-day training sessions for students to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence in sharing their personal stories safely. Once you've completed the workshop, and if you'd like to, we'll provide opportunities for you to share your story and raise awareness for other students and staff at ECU and the wider community.

The learning objectives of the Lived Experience Project are:

  • Understand the risks and benefits of storytelling to various audiences
  • Identify and apply personal boundaries
  • Identify and describe the key messages of your story
  • Share a 5-minute story
  • Understand and use effective communication techniques so that your key messages are conveyed
  • Identify personal strategies for self-care
  • Understand the role of a Lived Experience speaker.

Why share stories?

People connect with others who have had similar or relatable experiences. Some additional benefits for the speaker include:

  • Empowerment
  • Building confidence
  • Sense of satisfaction in helping others
  • Assisting in recovery
  • Finding meaning in life experiences

Benefits for the audience include:

  • Increased knowledge of diverse student experiences
  • Increased awareness that mental health issues are common and can affect anyone
  • Increased awareness to seek help and use support services available
  • Reduced stigma and creating a supportive campus culture

Join the Lived Experience Project

To register your interest in attending a the training session, please email the Equity Projects team via equity@ecu.edu.au.

Before joining the Lived Experience Project, you'll need to discuss your readiness to share your experiences with a health professional. We'll arrange this meeting once you've been in touch to register your interest in the training session.

If you are currently studying on the South West campus, let us know and we can pay the public transport costs to come up for the training.

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