Lived Experience Lounge - An Imroc Podcast

We have a guest in the lounge! For the first time ever, we've invited someone in to join us — and we couldn't have picked better. Holly Harris is a research coordinator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and a PhD candidate at York University, and she brings so much warmth and insight to this conversation about lived experience and activism. We get into the history of...

In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge, Emma, Katie and Danny turn to the subject of suicide — exploring its historical and cultural context, the impact of language, and shifting perspectives over time. Speaking from a range of lived experience, including suicidality, survival, and bereavement, they share what they've learned with honesty, tenderness and compassion. This episode contains s...

In this episode of The Lived Experience Lounge, our hosts Danny, Emma, and Katie turn their attention to activism — exploring what it means to stand up for what matters, from placards and marches to the quieter, everyday acts of challenging things within our own communities. Drawing on both academic thinking and our own lived experience, we dig into how power and privilege shape the way we take ac...

This week Katie, Emma and Danny get into stigma and shame — what they actually are, how they show up in daily life, and how exhausting it is to constantly manage how you're perceived. They get honest about their own relationships with shame, whether that's avoiding certain situations entirely, policing what you share with services, or just never quite knowing when it's safe to tell your story. The...

In this second part, Katie, Emma, and Danny turn inward — exploring what madness feels like from the inside, and what it has to teach us. From madness as protector to madness as identity, the conversation gets personal and philosophical. They dig into the myth of mental illness, the power of metaphor in extreme experiences, and whether "getting better" means leaving your mad self behind — or learn...

Let's be honest about madness! Join Katie, Emma, and Danny as they swap stories about their "mad selves" not as enemies to overcome, but as protectors, box-smashers, and core parts of who they are. Time to dig into identity, metaphor, the myth of mental illness, and why "getting better" isn't always the win it's cracked up to be. Find out more about Imroc https://www.imroc.org/

What actually counts as peer support? In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge , we explore the origins, evolution, and tensions within peer support in mental health. From grassroots activism and survivor-led movements to its integration into modern services, we ask: what makes peer support distinct, and what risks emerge as it becomes professionalised? We reflect on peer support as both a philo...

What do we really mean when we talk about “lived experience”? In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge , we explore the philosophical roots, political dimensions, and practical realities of lived experience in mental health. Is it simply experience that has been labelled or diagnosed? Is it embodied knowledge? Is it an identity, a role, a form of power, or all of the above? We reflect on lived e...

What does recovery actually mean, and who gets to define it? In this first full episode of Lived Experience Lounge , we explore the history of the recovery movement and the tensions that sit beneath the word. From its roots in the survivor movement to its adoption within services, recovery has meant many different things to different people. We reflect on clinical recovery, personal recovery, coll...

In this mini episode of Lived Experience Lounge , we introduce ourselves. Emma, Danny, and Katie share parts of their personal and professional journeys into mental health work, peer support, and lived experience leadership. We reflect on crisis, recovery, identity, and the messy, ongoing process of making sense of it all. This isn’t a tidy origin story. It’s a conversation about becoming, questio...

In this mini episode of Lived Experience Lounge , we explore the story, values and purpose behind Imroc. From its beginnings as a recovery-focused consultancy to its evolving role in supporting community development, peer support, recovery colleges and system transformation, we unpack what makes Imroc distinct. We talk about lived experience leadership, relational care, working inside and outside...