ABSTRACT
Emeritus Professor Bernadette McSherry has emphasised the inclusion of lived experience perspectives in her research and career. This chapter expands on this work by exploring the historical conceptualisation of mental illness and its influence on the contemporary mental health system and mental health laws. It highlights how contemporary approaches to mental illness in Western societies are still overshadowed by historical prejudice, resulting in persistent structural biases against people experiencing mental ill-health. This chapter explains what ‘lived experience’ is, why the recognition and elevation of lived experience is important in challenging the foundations of contemporary mental health systems and mental health law and how ‘allyship’ or partnership between professionals and persons with lived experience is necessary for lasting reform. It also argues for a renewed focus on the social determinants of mental ill-health – a more holistic response – and rejects a narrow biomedical approach to mental health.
