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Value Lived Experience

Value lived experience as expertise. Learn how centering peer voices builds trust, equity, and more human, effective behavioral health systems.

Lived experience—the personal journey of navigating mental health, substance use, or trauma—is a form of expertise. People with lived experience bring real-world insights that improve how we support recovery and build more just systems.

These roles include formal peer roles like Certified Recovery Support Specialists (CRSS), Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPRS), recovery coaches, and behavioral health aides, and they also include community leaders and advocates whose lived experience shapes how care is delivered and policies are made.

Across Illinois and beyond, organizations are moving from symbolic inclusion to real partnership. They’re doing more than inviting peer voices to the table. They’re centering lived experience in decision-making, service design, and education.

But inclusion alone isn’t enough. Recognizing lived experience means treating it as both a cultural strength and a professional qualification.

What Your Organization Can Do

Lived experience is already transforming behavioral health systems. These resources and examples can help you embed it meaningfully in your organization.

Build Trust & Connection

Peer support workers bring empathy, non-judgment, and shared understanding. These qualities help people feel seen, safe, and respected.

Peer-to-Peer Education Program – NAMI

A free, peer-led education program for adults with mental health conditions. Designed to build knowledge and community.

Strengthen Outcomes With Peer-Informed Services

Peer-led programs can reduce hospitalizations, support recovery, and improve engagement, especially when paired with ongoing training and support.

Peer Services Program – Thresholds Illinois

An evidence-based model where people with lived experience provide person-centered, community-based support.

Peer Support Research and Reports – Mental Health America

Reports that demonstrate the impact of peer support and the structural investments needed to sustain it.

Evidence-Based Tools for Youth Mental Health – PracticeWise

Training and toolkits to help peer workers and professionals support youth with real-world, data-informed practices.

Reduce Stigma & Shift Culture

When people with lived experience are visible in leadership and service roles, outdated narratives begin to change.

The Value of Lived Experience in Global Mental Health – Cambridge University

A global perspective on how lived experience transforms systems and shifts power in mental health care.

Create Infrastructure for Inclusion and Leadership

It’s not enough to invite lived experience into the room. Organizations must build systems that support, compensate, and develop peer leadership.

Engaging People with Lived/Living Experience

A practical guide for meaningfully engaging people with lived/living experience. Includes strategies for recruitment, support, and co-leadership.