Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan explores how organisations can embed lived and living experience in governance beyond advisory groups and consultation.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan explores why co-design in mental health often fails and what meaningful participation requires.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan and LEXs receive the Suicide Prevention Australia LiFE Award for Priority Populations.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan receives the Suicide Prevention Australia LiFE Award for Outstanding Contribution in Western Australia.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan joins a national panel reflecting on the first year of the Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Award-winning social worker Michael Elwan explores multicultural belonging, identity, and migration in Australia ahead of the Between Worlds workshop.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan reflects on lived experience leadership and why language matters in mental health systems.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan receives WA Mental Health Award congratulations in WA Parliament.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan joins the National Mental Health Workforce Advisory Network to support Australia’s Strategy

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan is named the 2025 AASW Social Worker of the Year, recognising national leadership.

Our new peer-reviewed paper, co-authored by Michael Elwan , has been published in the Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health . The study explores how Australia measures recovery in its public mental health system - and what might be missing when we rely solely on symptom-based tools. Australia’s public mental health services collect vast amounts of data each year. Every hospital, community team, and inpatient unit routinely records a bundle of measures known

Award-winning social worker and national advisor Michael Elwan reflects on receiving the WA Mental Health Award 2025 for Lived Experience Impact & Inspiration, supported by the WA Mental Health Commission.

I recently received news that I’ve been named a Finalist in the AASW National Excellence Awards 2025 for Social Worker of the Year , a recognition that honours lived-experience leadership and social work excellence across Australia. It took a while for the news to sink in. These things never start with applause - they start with small steps, hard days, and moments where you’re just trying to keep someone safe, including yourself. My path into social work wasn’t a straight

I am delighted to announce a new course I have co-created with my colleague Almudena for the WA Recovery College Alliance (WARCA) . This free, community-based program invites people from every walk of life to explore recovery as a journey of learning, connection, and hope. WA Recovery College courses are co-designed by people with lived and professional experience, offering a unique space where knowledge is shared rather than prescribed, and where participants are partners in

As R U OK? Day draws near on 11 September, I've been quietly reflecting on the quiet power of these check-ins, especially out here in our regional and rural spots where support can sometimes feel a bit distant. In the fresh edition of Trunk Line from the Manna Institute, I share reflections for R U OK? Day 2025 - part of Manna Institute’s ongoing commitment to community connection and mental health research. Dr Tara Lal AFSM reminds us that "Are you okay?" can feel a tad clos

I recently had the chance to sit down for a chat on the Equi Voices multicultural mental health interview, and I have to say, it was a wonderful experience. Being interviewed by Estela Fuentes was an absolute pleasure; her passion for multicultural mental health and cross-cultural wellbeing is infectious, and it made the whole conversation flow like a natural catch-up over a cuppa. She's got this genuine fire for amplifying diverse voices in the mental health space, and it r

I'm feeling a deep sense of humility and gratitude today. I've been selected as one of the two stories of hope featured by Suicide Prevention Australia for World Suicide Prevention Day 2025; it's a real privilege to stand alongside such powerful voices in this space. As someone who's walked the path of being a carer and a survivor of loss, especially within culturally and linguistically diverse communities, this recognition hits close to home. It's not just about my journey;

Award-winning social worker and national advisor Michael Elwan is a finalist in the R U OK? Barbara Hocking Memorial Award 2025 for his leadership in lived-experience conversations.

I’m honoured to share that I’ve recently been appointed as a Digital Health Adviser - Consumer and Carer with the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) , a role that brings lived experience to the forefront of digital transformation in Australia’s health system. So, what does this role involve? Over the next 12 months, I’ll be participating in a wide range of activities - reviewing communications materials, co-designing digital tools, contributing to strategic conversatio

Before a migrant man from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) background walks through the door of a mental health service in Australia, he has already carried more than many of us realise. When I was first invited to contribute to Roses in the Ocean's PEERnet’s Community Contributor series , I saw an opportunity - not just to share a story, but to illuminate a reality that too often goes unspoken. The result was my piece, Layer Upon Layer: Understanding the Invis