Symposium 114

[SY-114-01] Integrating Lived Experience in Mental Health Research and Practice with Individuals and Families

*Oscar Jimenez-Solomon¹, Charlotte Clous², Vincenzo Di Nicola^3,4, Riyadh Al-Baldawi⁵ (1.New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center(United States of America), 2.Centre for Transcultural Psychiatry, Veldzicht University Medical Center of Groningen(Netherlands), 3.Université de Montréal(Canada), 4.The George Washington University(United States of America), 5.Marie Cederschiöld University College(Sweden))

Keywords:

lived experience,family and culture,epistemic justice,disparities

This symposium highlights the growing recognition of lived experience as a valuable source of knowledge in mental health research and practice, especially at the intersection of family and culture. Historically excluded and dismissed as biased, lived experience is critical for addressing inequities and fostering inclusion in transcultural psychiatry. This knowledge includes insights from individuals with mental health diagnoses, clinicians, and researchers, as well as those who have experienced migration, discrimination, family conflict, and socioeconomic challenges. This symposium aims to advance inclusion and counter epistemic injustice through interdisciplinary approaches in psychiatry, psychotherapy, anthropology, and sociology from Sweden, Canada, The Netherlands, and USA. This symposium will provide introduction to key concepts such as lived experience, lived expertise, and epistemic authority and justice, emphasizing their relevance to addressing mental health inequities in culturally diverse families. The agenda includes four presentations: (1) The role of peer workers with lived expertise in providing psychosocial interventions, building trust, and fostering treatment engagement, with insights from a financial empowerment intervention for individuals at risk of suicide in USA; (2) Lessons from a collaborative research project (in The Netherlands) involving experts by experience of migration and mental healthcare in all stages, from topic selection to publication, reflecting on challenges, successes, and recommendations for future work; (3) The use of lived experience and self-disclosure in clinical practice with Middle Eastern migrant families, showcasing strategies to build trust and address intergenerational dynamics. Clinical observations from Sweden; (4) Relational theory and therapy are founded on the relational dialogue and values authentic self-disclosures between therapists and individual, family, group or community interlocutors. Judicious self-disclosure is the antidote to the myth of the therapeutic blank screen. A Q&A section will discuss how to integrate lived experience into research and practice.