Suicide Prevention and the Lived Experience Workforce | Michael Elwan

Yesterday, I attended the Suicide Prevention Australia National Lunch Series in Perth. The room brought together passionate voices united in one purpose: saving lives. Yet amid the critical conversations, one narrative needs far more attention.

Suicide Is Not Always About Mental Illness

Suicide can affect anyone, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed mental health condition.

What about people living in poverty, those struggling to make ends meet, people without access to healthcare, or those enduring domestic and family violence? These aren’t abstract statistics; they are real people living with pressures that accumulate quietly and relentlessly.

When we focus solely on mental illness, we overlook the influence of social determinants - the environments and experiences that shape a person’s daily life. How can we expect someone to stay afloat when everything around them is pulling them under?

Valuing the Lived Experience Workforce

A key message from the event was the essential contribution of the lived experience workforce. These are people who have walked through crisis and now walk beside others. Their insight is irreplaceable in suicide prevention, yet the support they receive is often inadequate.

Many relive their trauma while navigating systems that do not always provide relevant peer work supervision, wellbeing structures, or recognition they deserve. Lived experience is not simply a viewpoint; it is a professional discipline with its own values, principles, and ethical commitments. It should be treated with the same respect as any other specialised field.

Changing the Narrative

Progress is happening, but we need to broaden the conversation. To prevent suicide, we must see the whole person;their environment, relationships, financial pressures, trauma history, and access to support.

Prevention does not start with a diagnosis; it starts with listening. It starts with systems that value lived experience, address root causes of distress, and provide holistic, human-centred care.

Based in Perth, WA, LEXs provides telehealth counselling across Australia for individuals, couples, and NDIS participants. Services extend to Social Work supervision, Peer Work supervision, training, and keynote speaking on men’s mental health, CaLD community wellbeing, and culturally responsive suicide prevention; helping people and organisations make mental-health care more compassionate, inclusive, and effective. LEXs provides services across Australia, supporting clients in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and beyond. To learn more about our work across Australia, visit LEXs' services page.