From Despair to Connection: Parent/Carer Groups Supporting Recovery Through Lived Experience
Tracks
MONARCH ROOM - In-Person & Virtual via OnAIR
| Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
| 1:45 PM - 2:15 PM |
Overview
Alison Parkinson & Clare Henderson, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
Presenter
Ms Alison Parkinson
Lived Experience Coordinator
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
From Despair to Connection: Parent/Carer Groups Supporting Recovery Through Lived Experience
Presentation Overview
This presentation explores the development and impact of parent/carer groups co-designed and co-facilitated by Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers and clinicians across CAMHS services in WA. These groups provide a safe, supportive space for families navigating the complexities of youth mental health, offering practical tools, emotional validation, and system navigation strategies.
Families often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of how best to support their young person through mental health challenges. These groups aim to transform that experience by centering lived experience, fostering connection, and building confidence. Co-facilitation by a Carer Peer Worker, someone who has walked a similar path, creates a powerful sense of hope and relatability, helping families feel less alone and more empowered.
The groups were co-designed by clinicians and Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers, blending clinical, evidence-based expertise with lived experience insight. This collaborative approach ensures content is both practical and emotionally resonant, grounded in recovery-oriented and trauma-informed principles.
Since their introduction, these groups have supported families across multiple CAMHS sites, with consistently positive feedback. The model is scalable and adaptable, tailored to reflect the specific services the young person is receiving within CAMHS. They offer a peer-informed approach that bridges clinical services and community support.
By creating safe spaces for connection and learning, these groups support families to navigate youth mental health with resilience and hope.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Lived experience transforms support by reducing isolation and inspiring hope through authentic storytelling, fostering emotional connection and trust with families.
2. Co-designed, peer-led groups offer practical tools that equip parents and carers to better support their young person’s emotional regulation and recovery, tailored to the specific CAMHS service their child is engaged with.
3. Collaborative models strengthen family resilience and demonstrate how integrating clinical expertise with lived experience can reduce crisis escalation and the need for acute interventions.
Families often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of how best to support their young person through mental health challenges. These groups aim to transform that experience by centering lived experience, fostering connection, and building confidence. Co-facilitation by a Carer Peer Worker, someone who has walked a similar path, creates a powerful sense of hope and relatability, helping families feel less alone and more empowered.
The groups were co-designed by clinicians and Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers, blending clinical, evidence-based expertise with lived experience insight. This collaborative approach ensures content is both practical and emotionally resonant, grounded in recovery-oriented and trauma-informed principles.
Since their introduction, these groups have supported families across multiple CAMHS sites, with consistently positive feedback. The model is scalable and adaptable, tailored to reflect the specific services the young person is receiving within CAMHS. They offer a peer-informed approach that bridges clinical services and community support.
By creating safe spaces for connection and learning, these groups support families to navigate youth mental health with resilience and hope.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Lived experience transforms support by reducing isolation and inspiring hope through authentic storytelling, fostering emotional connection and trust with families.
2. Co-designed, peer-led groups offer practical tools that equip parents and carers to better support their young person’s emotional regulation and recovery, tailored to the specific CAMHS service their child is engaged with.
3. Collaborative models strengthen family resilience and demonstrate how integrating clinical expertise with lived experience can reduce crisis escalation and the need for acute interventions.
Biography
Alison Parkinson is a Lived Experience Coordinator for CAMHS based in WA, working to embed lived experience perspectives into mental health systems. Alison collaborates across teams to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are not only heard but actively shape service design, delivery and evaluation. Her work reflects a passion for inclusive practice, systemic change and community empowerment. Alison's motivation comes from a desire to challenge stigma, elevate diverse voices, and foster environments where lived experience is recognised as expertise.
Mrs Clare Henderson
Lived Experience Coordinator
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
From Despair to Connection: Parent/Carer Groups Supporting Recovery Through Lived Experience
Presentation Overview
This presentation explores the development and impact of parent/carer groups co-designed and co-facilitated by Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers and clinicians across CAMHS services in WA. These groups provide a safe, supportive space for families navigating the complexities of youth mental health, offering practical tools, emotional validation, and system navigation strategies.
Families often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of how best to support their young person through mental health challenges. These groups aim to transform that experience by centering lived experience, fostering connection, and building confidence. Co-facilitation by a Carer Peer Worker, someone who has walked a similar path, creates a powerful sense of hope and relatability, helping families feel less alone and more empowered.
The groups were co-designed by clinicians and Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers, blending clinical, evidence-based expertise with lived experience insight. This collaborative approach ensures content is both practical and emotionally resonant, grounded in recovery-oriented and trauma-informed principles.
Since their introduction, these groups have supported families across multiple CAMHS sites, with consistently positive feedback. The model is scalable and adaptable, tailored to reflect the specific services the young person is receiving within CAMHS. They offer a peer-informed approach that bridges clinical services and community support.
By creating safe spaces for connection and learning, these groups support families to navigate youth mental health with resilience and hope.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Lived experience transforms support by reducing isolation and inspiring hope through authentic storytelling, fostering emotional connection and trust with families.
2. Co-designed, peer-led groups offer practical tools that equip parents and carers to better support their young person’s emotional regulation and recovery, tailored to the specific CAMHS service their child is engaged with.
3. Collaborative models strengthen family resilience and demonstrate how integrating clinical expertise with lived experience can reduce crisis escalation and the need for acute interventions.
Families often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of how best to support their young person through mental health challenges. These groups aim to transform that experience by centering lived experience, fostering connection, and building confidence. Co-facilitation by a Carer Peer Worker, someone who has walked a similar path, creates a powerful sense of hope and relatability, helping families feel less alone and more empowered.
The groups were co-designed by clinicians and Lived Experience Carer Peer Workers, blending clinical, evidence-based expertise with lived experience insight. This collaborative approach ensures content is both practical and emotionally resonant, grounded in recovery-oriented and trauma-informed principles.
Since their introduction, these groups have supported families across multiple CAMHS sites, with consistently positive feedback. The model is scalable and adaptable, tailored to reflect the specific services the young person is receiving within CAMHS. They offer a peer-informed approach that bridges clinical services and community support.
By creating safe spaces for connection and learning, these groups support families to navigate youth mental health with resilience and hope.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Lived experience transforms support by reducing isolation and inspiring hope through authentic storytelling, fostering emotional connection and trust with families.
2. Co-designed, peer-led groups offer practical tools that equip parents and carers to better support their young person’s emotional regulation and recovery, tailored to the specific CAMHS service their child is engaged with.
3. Collaborative models strengthen family resilience and demonstrate how integrating clinical expertise with lived experience can reduce crisis escalation and the need for acute interventions.
Biography
Bio not provided
