. Just various PC Woke labels, or a real difference? ‘Cheer up!’ A story first. A few decades ago, a friend and I were going down to the shops one afternoon. My friend had a physical disability and used a wheelchair to get around, and a spelling board, to which…
What do we mean by Consumer Perspective?
Consumer Perspective I’ll try to get to some sort of nuanced academic understanding of this term, but I’ll just start with simplicity. A Consumer Perspective is the ‘perspective’ of, or how the social world looks to, ‘consumers’ or people using or being provided services or product (voluntarily or otherwise) by…
A Consumer Assessment of a Mental Health Service
Many years ago, I was asked to speak at a planning day for a service at which I had just started. I was asked to give a ‘consumer assessment’ of the service. I guess they wanted a reasoned point-form description from a consumer perspective which could be folded into the…
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act Principles from a Consumer Perspective
‘Peer work’ vs ‘Peer Support Work’
. There are sometimes differences in ‘Worldview’ when it comes to interpreting the terms above, especially in the context of the Certificate 4 in Mental Health Peer Work’. In the context of The Cert IV in Peer Work, the term ‘Peer work’ was the one, at the time, and still…
‘The Devil’s Still on Hold’
I’ve always liked a particular old American Western song. It pitted ultimate evil against some tough old birds, and the right side won. Click here for the original song“Tying A Knot In The Devil’s Tail” So, I penned a local adaptation because I need to believe the right side can…
Plain Language FAQ*
What’s in a name? What you call complicated. I call plain language, who can say? Plain Language is NOT ‘plain language’. What is ‘plain language’ may in fact be partly dependant one one’s background. Plain Language with the capitals is a movement to reform written communication strategies dating at least…
Our Muses
Verse, Music, and other Arts
About
Me I have been hanging around the Consumer Participation/Consumer Worker/Peer Worker/Lived Experience/Lived and Living Experience profession here in Melbourne, Australia since the late ’90s. I’ve worked at consumer organisations, big hospitals and many places in between, in peer support, independent advocacy and systemic work. However the stuff you see on…
‘All of the Above’ Posters
Click on pic to see details (The posters originally were written for use in a mental health service and have reference to the lived experience workforce, For printable versions suitable for places where LLEW is not a thing, please download below) Resources to reduce Stigma and Labelling THE PROBLEM When…
