Lived Experience is as Important as Learned Experience
On World Mental Health Day 2026, the Maltese Association of Psychiatry (MAP) calls for the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience of mental illness, together with their families and carers, in decision-making at ALL levels of mental healthcare.
This year’s theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change,” reminds us that mental health services should not simply be designed for those who use them, but developed with them.
From Consultation to Participation
MAP believes that service users and carers should have a genuine voice in shaping mental healthcare, including:
- Individual care: Shared decisions about treatment and recovery.
- Service planning: Involvement in designing and evaluating services.
- Management and governance: Representation on relevant boards and committees.
- National policy: Active participation in developing mental health strategies and reforms.
Mental health professionals bring clinical expertise, while service users and carers bring invaluable knowledge gained through lived experience. Both perspectives are essential to creating compassionate, effective and person-centred services.
Turning Commitment into Action
Malta’s Mental Health Strategy 2020–2030 already recognises the importance of people with lived experience and their families as partners in transforming mental healthcare.
Seven years after its publication, MAP calls on the Government, Mental Health Authorities and relevant stakeholders to translate this commitment into formal, sustainable structures for service-user and carer participation.
Meaningful involvement must go beyond consultation. People should have genuine opportunities to influence decisions, with appropriate support and respect for their rights, dignity and autonomy.
Listening is important. Participation is essential. Real change requires sharing decisions and responsibility.
The Maltese Association of Psychiatry (MAP)