After making successful progress towards recovery from her mental health struggles, Helen* decided to attend her local Mental Health User Voice group. Here is what she had to say about the experience...

"Attending User Voice meetings with other members and being able to contribute made me feel welcome and capable. I'm gaining more independence now that I can travel on my own, and the User Voice group has given me a reason to get out and confidently visit new places, so it has really aided my recovery. It definitely has improved my wellbeing, as I have been able to mix with other people and even give presentations after ten years of avoiding other people! The meetings and places that you took me to were easy to engage in, so again that was a boost to my confidence. I started to realise I was going to meetings with people who are like-minded and I realised just how many people are involved in mental health and are trying to make things better on a local and regional level.

"I realised just how many people are involved in mental health and are trying to make things better on a local and regional level."

I would definitely like to pass on to others the benefits of service user involvement and show them how it can be a pathway from isolation and exclusion back into socialising and inclusion. I’m learning a lot on the peer support course, and I am also involved with the Recovery College in Newcastle. All my involvement with User Voice has helped me work towards recovery and a transition back to employment, although I hope that when I get a job I am still able to get involved and promote service user involvement!"

Find out more about our User Voice groups

* This case study is from a real client of MHM, but the names have been changed.