The Developmental Impact of Mental Health Lived Experience Advocacy on Youth Education and Employment Engagement

Abstract Young people with mental ill-health often experience significant exclusion from education and work due to the direct and indirect effects of their symptoms. While mental health lived experience advocacy offers a promising pathway to empowerment, its impact on wellbeing and subsequent education and work engagement in young people is not well understood. This qualitative study explored these impacts through semi-structured interviews with 18 lived experience advocates aged 18–33. Participants described how exclusionary barriers, challenging peer relationships, and difficulties accessing support hindered their educational and occupational engagement, often creating a negative cycle with wellbeing. However, the process of becoming a Lived Experience Advocate (LEA) cultivated empowerment through four key mechanisms: The Creation Mindset; Championing My Own Mental Health; Shaping the Trajectory of My Career and Remember This. These developments improved wellbeing and equipped LEAs with tangible skills to self-advocate, enabling them to secure accommodations, reduce social exclusion, and achieve greater mastery in educational and work settings. The study findings can inform the development of accommodations by educational institutions and employers, and guide youth mental health service design by demonstrating LEA’s role in enhancing engagement. This research offers new insights into the transformative personal effects of lived experience programs.