From Representation to Integration: Lived Experience in Mental Health Teams: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Lived experience workers are an integral part of mental health multidisciplinary teams, contributing unique insights and support grounded in personal experience and lived expertise. Despite their growing presence, challenges with the integration of lived experience workers into these teams persist. There is a gap in knowledge on lived experience workers' perspectives on their inclusion in multidisciplinary teams, as well as clinicians' views on the lived experience role. The aim for this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of lived experience workers and clinicians regarding the integration of lived experience roles within multidisciplinary mental health teams, with a focus on identifying barriers, facilitators and impacts of role integration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with lived experience workers (n = 7) and mental health clinicians (n = 7). Framework Analysis of interviews resulted in four main themes: (1) Systemic barriers hinder integration; (2) Lack of lived experience workforce role clarity limits impact; (3) Discipline-based defensiveness as a barrier to integration; and (4) Clinical and lived experience workforce perspectives clash. This study highlights that successful integration of the lived experience workforce in mental health care requires more than structural reform. Sustainable inclusion depends on role clarity, shared responsibility and accountability among multidisciplinary team members and relational trust. Without addressing differing attitudes and beliefs about authority and recovery, integration of lived experience into mental health risks being symbolic rather than transformative.