Our Journey of Co-Designing a Suicide Stigma Reduction Program for Postsecondary Students: Highlighting the Value of Lived Expert Collaboration in Program Development

The stigma towards suicide is still very prevalent in our communities. With the increase in reported suicide thoughts and behaviours in postsecondary students, stigma reduction interventions are an important area of mental health promotion. When creating any type of mental health program, people with lived experience (PWLE) should be included in the process. In this article, we share our approach to co-designing a suicide stigma reduction program for postsecondary students, highlighting the advisory group experience within this methodology. The relational approach to recruitment is described, as well as an introduction to each advisory group member and their motivations and experiences with participating in research. We discuss how the advisory group functions, including an outline of our group norms and values, decision-making processes, challenges we experienced, and lessons learned. We end with five recommendations for researchers interested in co-designing programs with PWLE: 1) Be Informed, but Act with Humility; 2) Make Meaningful Connections Early and Often; 3) Strive for Diversity and Representation; 4) Value ALL Forms of Knowledge; 5) Promote Self-Care and Self-Reflection. This article shares broad, personal stories of suicide stigma, but avoids specific details regarding suicide thoughts and behaviours.