Mr. Michael Ryan:

The HSE needs to be acknowledged for the work it has done in this area in terms of the office I head up, which involves the area leads for engagement, the recovery education and the peer support working. It has been recognised internationally that we are aspiring to be leaders in the field on this. We have to be careful that we are not creating arbitrary divides in people’s experiences and so on. Every person who has a mental health challenge is an expert in his or her experience. That is a valid experience which needs to be honoured and listened to. When introducing people to the multidisciplinary teams it is important to listen to their experiences because that is an important resource in how they will co-produce the intervention or treatment with the person. As that person moves into recovery, he or she overcomes the challenge and starts to get back to work or achieve life goals, and that is his or her recovery experience. On reflection he or she is able to objectively think about what happened, what the experience was like, how he or she recovered and what he or she has learned from it. When these people are able to reconcile their experiences, then they are in a position to share it with others in a more formal way. We would call these people experts by experience at that point. At all times we have to realise that we are asking people to share something personal and something that is at the core of them. It is important that-----