Saturday 10th October is World Mental Health Day 2026, with the theme for this year’s campaign being Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.
Set by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) the 2026 campaign theme is a rallying call to listen to and engage with individuals with personal, lived experience of mental health conditions to ensure that real voices can shape policies, services, workplace practices and the decisions that affect their lives.
The global awareness campaign is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and features joint webinars and a range of resources to highlight community-based care and other support services.
Meaningful engagement is key this World Mental Health Day
The WHO defines lived experience as personal expertise based on “what someone has experienced themselves, especially when it gives the individual knowledge or understanding that people who have only heard or learnt about such experiences do not have.”
Engaging with people with lived experiences has proven incredibly valuable and effective in many different fields. Notably, the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism was co-developed and is co-delivered with Experts with Lived Experience (EWLE). Lived experience continues to inform independent reviews and policy development within the fields of learning disability and autism.
However, the WHO says that this type of meaningful engagement and co-development is still rare, arguing that people with lived experience are being heard but are still too often “asked to share their stories but excluded from decisions.”
They say that meaningful engagement translates to “creating opportunities for people to influence decisions, co-design services, strengthen peer-led approaches, challenge stigma and strengthen accountability.”
This could help ensure that mental health services and policies are more relevant, person-centred, rights-based and responsive to people’s needs.
Community-based mental health care is a key priority
When the views of people with lived experience have been sought, they have identified a shift away from long-stay psychiatric institutions towards community-based, person-centred mental health care as a key priority. To reflect this priority, the WHO plans to launch practical guidance on deinstitutionalisation.
Their hope for World Mental Health Day 2026 is that decision-makers can move “from listening to action – and build mental health systems with PWLE, not merely for them.”
Unfortunately, despite some success stories, meaningful engagement with people with lived experience is still not the norm.
The WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024 survey revealed that, of the countries who responded:
- 37% reported having included PWLE in training delivered to primary health care workers on mental health
- 45% reported having ongoing collaboration with PWLE and family or caregiver advocacy groups in the planning, delivery or monitoring of mental health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services.
- 59% reported that mental health legislation had been developed in consultation with PWLE
- 80% of countries with a mental health policy or plan reported that it had been developed in consultation with PWLE.
Governments, healthcare systems and organisations can use the WHO Framework for meaningful engagement to ensure that people with lived experience are effectively embedded as equal partners across mental health policy development, service design, implementation and evaluation.
The WHO also says that the shift towards community-based mental health care is happening too slowly, with less than 1 in 10 countries having fully transitioned from institution-based care to community-based models. Around half are still in the early stages of their transition.
Meanwhile, nearly half of all reported psychiatric hospital admissions are involuntary, and more than 1 in 5 hospital stays last longer than a year.
Widespread deinstitutionalisation across the globe would mean more people living with dignity and choice and remaining connected to their families, friends and communities. People experiencing mental health challenges deserve to access quality services and practical support within their communities.
World Mental Health Day in the UK
In the UK, many organisations, charities and campaign groups support World Mental Health Day.
The Mental Health Foundation says:
“Conversations about mental health make a difference. And they matter most when we listen to people’s experiences.”
They provide useful tips for starting conversations about mental health – such as practising active listening without judgment and validating others’ experiences – and for developing good listening skills.
The Foundation describes lived experience as “one of our most powerful tools for improving mental health.” They put lived experience into action across their work on policy and advocacy, research and mental health resources.
Every World Mental Health Day, they hold a Tea & Talk to raise awareness and encourage people to talk about mental health.
Meanwhile leading mental health charity Mind are marking World Mental Health Day by sharing their campaign to reimagine the mental health care system in the UK.
The See Me Now campaign is fighting “to transform the future of mental health support, based on ‘same-day open access’. However we ask for help, we should be seen – really seen – the same day.”
Empower yourself through mental health training
Mental health learning and development solutions can play a significant role in helping people to recognise risk factors and proactively support positive mental wellbeing across the UK.
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading national training provider delivering courses in subjects such as health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, food safety, mental health, health and social care and more.
FRT’s specialist mental health training courses include Understanding Mental Health, Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace, Managing Stress, Anxiety and Phobias Awareness, Self-Harm Awareness and Suicide Awareness.
They can also provide qualified, approved trainers to deliver accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training courses, including the Adult, Youth and Lite versions.
A trainer from FRT says:
“It’s so important that we continue to talk about mental health and create environments in which people feel able to share their experiences.
“It’s important for us to be aware of things that impact our mental and emotional wellbeing, to be able to talk about these issues and how we’re feeling, and to take practical steps to manage these impacts.
“Training can empower individuals to help others as well as to support and promote their own mental health and build their emotional resilience. This can ensure we are better placed to help others and take positive steps to respond to people’s individual experiences.”
Resources to support mental health and wellbeing
A brief summary of our mental health training can now be downloaded as an infographic.
We also have a number of other free infographics available to download which provide simple tips for helping to manage your mental wellbeing. These include:
- Manage Your Stress
- Support Your Mental Health
- Connect With Nature
- Anxiety Factsheet
- Manage Your Anxiety
- Managing Panic Attacks
You can also download our free Guide to Mental Health Training from our website.
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.