The future of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum

John Lilley (Individual Representative, Mental Health) and Josh Beynon (Practice Solutions)

Improving mental health and wellbeing by respecting and 

empowering people to influence decision making

The Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum is made up of people with lived experience of mental health issues and their friends and families. The members come from a range of different backgrounds and reflect the diversity of the people of Wales. Here in Powys John Lilley - more from him below - joins Rhydian and Sally to bring the voice of Powys service users and carers to the table.

Forum members work collaboratively with other key stakeholders to influence Welsh Government policy by using the skills, knowledge and experience they have gained within the field of mental health. They play a very important role in helping shape future mental health services within Wales.

We recently heard that Practice Solutions Ltd, the organisation which has provided support to the Forum over recent years, has been awarded the tender to support the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum for the next 3 years.

Since the Forum started working on the contract with Practice Solutions it has gone from strength to strength and a huge part of this has come from the fact that Practice Solutions staff have instilled in members that it is their Forum and they should lead the direction of the work and how this looks in the future. The members are then able to use the knowledge and experience of Practice Solutions’ staff to inform and guide them in the best way forward when developing projects.

Since the Forum started working with Practice Solutions there have been lots of exciting developments. The Forum changed its name from the National Mental Health Forum to the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum. It was felt that this better represented the Forum’s work focus - what happens within services in Wales.

John Lilley chairing a Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing forum meeting

The Forum also designed their own logo and branding which is now used on their promotional material and on their social media platforms and this enables the Forum to create a professional image when speaking to organisations.

With guidance from Practice Solutions' staff the Forum also established separate working groups alongside the quarterly meetings and these included Communications & Marketing, Future Planning & Recruitment, and Reward & Engagement. These groups enable some of the members to focus on particular aspects of the Forum such as designing a logo or their website, promoting the Forum and attending events. Proposals and ideas are taken to the main quarterly meeting for agreement and voting by all members.

Another huge part of the Forum’s growth has involved the development of the website which allows members to inform people about their work, share good news stories, promote events and publish some of the papers that the Forum has produced. The Forum has also been privileged to have members share their mental health journey through the production of digital stories. These can be extremely powerful in highlighting the issues that people with mental health face.

The Forum is looking forward to continuing its work with Practice Solutions and seeing where the future journey takes them. Onwards and upwards…!

Josh Beynon, who is an Associate at Practice Solutions, and provides support to the Forum as part of his role, says: “It’s great to be supporting and working with the forum again to improve services and put the voice of service users and carers at the heart of decision making”.

John Lilley, Individual Rep Mental Health,
 at a Shared Power training session last year

John Lilley is the expert on the Forum locally here in Powys as he has been a member for several years now. He says: “I became a Mental Health Service User Representative as I felt my experience as a service user, and as someone with lived experience of mental health issues, could help to give a voice and attempt to improve access and care within the mental health services.

“I was diagnosed with bi-polar in 2013 and before that with clinical depression as a result of life changing neurosurgery in 2000. After a three month stay as a patient in Bronllys, and attending Patients’ Council meetings whilst there, I decided that following recovery I would join Powys Patients’ Council as a volunteer. I believe this helped in my recovery and boosted my self-esteem and confidence.

“After being a volunteer for over 5 years I became a Mental Health Service User Representative in Powys in 2021. During my time as a rep I have also joined the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum to represent Powys. This national forum meets regularly and reports to the Welsh Government on issues affecting service users and carers locally. I have also been a member of the Powys Crisis Care forum which oversees the delivery of the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat in Powys. This measures the effectiveness of how Powys deals with people in Mental Health Crisis.”

Find out more about the work of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum.

Find out more about becoming a Mental Health Rep in Powys.

“Outstanding Contribution Award” for Powys mental health reps

Jamie Burt (chair of PAVO trustees), Clair Swales (PAVO Chief Executive Officer),
Sarah Dale (Mental Health rep) & Tom Jones OBE (High Sheriff of Powys)

Owen Griffkin (Participation Officer) and Sarah Dale (Mental Health Representative) share their experiences of the recent 

Powys Volunteer of the Year Awards night.

The annual event is organised by Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations.

Owen Griffkin

The Powys Volunteer of The Year Awards is a wonderful way to celebrate all the volunteers in Powys who help to improve their communities and I was, therefore, really pleased to hear that the mental health service user and carer representatives had been nominated for this year's awards.

I attended the awards ceremony with Sarah Dale and our newest rep, Sally Houghton-Wilson, at the Elephant and Castle in Newtown.

My role is to support the reps to make sure they have everything they need for meetings, for example - agendas, travel etc. Because of this I see first-hand the work they do, and am constantly amazed by the dedication, bravery and hard work displayed by the reps. This was highlighted by the fact that one of the reps, John Lilley, couldn’t attend the awards ceremony as he was in Carmarthen at a national meeting!

It was a pleasure to see other groups and individuals who contribute so much to improving wellbeing in Powys receive awards. For example, Mums Matter Peer Support service, Cherilee from Ponthafren and Richard from Brecon & District Mind. There were also some really inspiring young people like the Junior Startwell Board who received well-deserved awards.

Mums Matter Peer Support Service receive the
Excellence in Health & Wellbeing group award

Then, after a delicious meal and a superb performance from two local performers who had entertained audiences in starring roles in West End productions, it was time for the Outstanding Contribution award. Sarah was really nervous in anticipation of the announcement but there was no need to be as the name on the envelope was read out - The Mental Health Service User and Carer Reps.

Sarah went up to collect the award, posed for some photos and then sat back down, grinning from ear-to-ear. Seeing how important the recognition was to Sarah made my night and I hurriedly sent texts to the other reps with photos and congratulations.

So once again to all the people who have been there to give service users and carers a voice - we all salute you and thank you!

You can read below what winning the award meant to Sarah and more about their roles.

Sally Houghton-Wilson (Carer rep), Owen Griffkin (PAVO Participation Officer)

and Sarah Dale (Mental Health rep)

Sarah Dale

Winning the Outstanding Contribution award means so much. As mental health service user and carer reps we are only required to attend the planning and development partnership board four times a year. But all of us do much more than this basic requirement. Myself and the other reps - John, Sally, Rhydian (and others like Hayley and Jane who have been involved recently) also attend the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum, Engage to Change, Talk to me 2 Group, and Powys Crisis Care Forum. We also meet patients at the Felindre ward at Bronllys Hospital every month to collect feedback, and report to the health board, to improve patience experience.

As reps we are asked to join working groups to help develop services to make sure they are fit for purpose, looking at specific areas such as the NHS111 Press 2 (due to launch in Powys soon) and complex trauma services.

We also go out to organisations and community groups to talk to people at ‘Meet the Rep’ events to gather experiences on services and directly discuss these issues with the service managers for mental health.

Sarah receives the Outstanding Contribution award on behalf of the reps
from Clair Swales, CEO PAVO

Recently myself and John Lilley have been voted in as the chair and vice chair of the Engage to Change sub-group which is a really productive meeting held with staff from all organisations who play a part in services. It is more responsibility and work but we also get to shape the discussion and give people a voice.

I have also led self-injury awareness sessions which have been attended by people from all over Powys and I have to reflect on and share some very triggering memories for me, but I do this because I want to help others who may be going through the same experiences. If I can tell people what could have made my experience better then they can make sure that others are treated with more empathy and compassion in the future. This is what drives us all as reps.

We do our utmost to champion the voices of those we represent, to ensure services are fit for purpose and the service user voice is heard loud and clear (I do have a loud voice!). People often forget that what we do is voluntary and that some of us are still receiving treatment for our mental health or caring for someone with a mental health condition. Because change takes time this can be exhausting and frustrating. So being recognised for everything we do with this award means so much that I can’t put it into words.

"The award has pride of place on my mantelpiece for now, until I pass it 

on to one of the other reps for them to keep." 

Find out more about becoming a Mental Health Rep in Powys.

The Powys Volunteer of the Year Awards is held annually by PAVO as part of the work 

of Powys Volunteer Centre. The awards recognise the commitment and value of volunteers across the County. If you feel inspired to volunteer, please get in touch with us:

volunteering@pavo.org.uk or 01597 822191 

Watch this space for our next annual awards and the opportunity to nominate a volunteer or group of volunteers who have made a difference to you!

A look into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

© Sarah Dale

Sarah Dale

Sarah Dale is a citizen rep in Powys – an unpaid volunteer who sits on the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Partnership to share the voice of lived experience. As a citizen rep Sarah previously sat on the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum (formerly the National Mental Health Service User and Carers’ Forum).

Sarah has also worked incredibly hard over the past few years as a regular contributor to the Engage to Change group, which is a sub-group of the PMHPDP. This group was established to "more widely promote the Mental Health Planning and Development Partnership’s activity, to proactively challenge any stigma associated with mental health and to collect "service user" views / experiences, co-ordinate resolution and feed back on resulting change to people using services."

And during the Covid-19 pandemic Sarah has also created and delivered a hugely valuable training session on Self-Injury Awareness to many of those working in the provision of statutory mental health services in the county. Sarah is absolutely passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues and brings an honesty and openness to the work which allows greater understanding for all those watching / reading / exploring more about these issues.

© Sarah Dale

Sarah's experience of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Sarah's latest project is an indepth look into Borderline Personality Disorder to promote during Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month this May.

"You are probably wondering... "what is Borderline Personality Disorder? And you are not alone. This is the response I get when I tell people I have BPD, and yet I still haven't been able to accurately explain what the disorder is, and how it affects me. 

The reason you probably haven't heard of the disorder is that most people with (BPD) have experienced a lot of stigma. Often being described as 'manipulative', 'attention seeking' and 'incurable'. You have probably seen over the years, celebrities opening up about their depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, thus more people are speaking up about their own struggles.

However, no one wants to talk about the more 'scary' or 'shameful' issues like self-injury, eating disorders, psychosis and personality disorders."

After exploring What is BPD? Sarah considers why it has this particular name, what it's like to have BPD, some of the feelings that people with BPD experience such as extreme emotional instability, fear and abandonment, and people's struggles with a sense of identity. Sarah then turns to the positive side of BPD and explores the empathy and compassion that people with the condition experience, plus an often increased creativity. To finish off Sarah debunks some of the commion BPD myths, such as that people with BPD are incurable and / or attention seeking.

You can read the whole piece, A Look into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), on our Powys Mental Health website.

If you have any queries for Sarah, or experiences to share, then do pop them in the comments' section below.

© Sarah Dale

Read more from Sarah

Sarah has written for this blog previously on:

The Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum – an update

Together for Mental Health consultation - a Powys view

On the Experts by Experience panel

And on the PAVO Health & Wellbeing blog:

Self Injury Awareness 

You can also catch up with Sarah on her Facebook page - Sarah Mental Health Rep.

The Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum – an update

by guest author Sarah Dale 

Sarah Dale is a citizen rep – an unpaid volunteer who sits on regional and national partnership boards, including the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum (formerly the National Mental Health Service User and Carers’ Forum) – “the voice of lived experience”.

“I became a rep because I don't want others to have to fight for years just to be diagnosed to get the treatment they need. I strongly believe we all have the responsibility to do what we can to change and improve the mental health services that we all use.” 

In the summer of 2020 Sarah attended the latest meetings of the Forum, which took place online over the course of two days (28 July and 12 August). It was Powys’ turn to host and Sarah chaired one of the sessions. Sarah recently reported back to the Engage to Change partnership board (sub-group of the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Board) about what took place over the course of the two days.

We had a general update and I did a long Powys update because we have done so much. There was a lot of feedback from the other reps that they were surprised how much work we actually do in Powys as reps. Someone said “now that is real co-production!” A lot of the other health boards haven’t actually done a lot during Covid, for example, having meetings or involving reps.

Then we had a quick session on the logo, looking at the new name and design. That was all approved. This was followed by a session on the Terms of Reference which were also approved, including the Easy Read version which I had gone through and amended. I don’t like the term Easy Read, I call it “Sarah readable!”

We looked at the new member roles which were also approved. Some people who have exceeded their term of office are now able to stay on in the Forum. We have other working groups – so there’s a Diversity and Equality Working Group – and we are looking at people we want to include in these groups, so we send out “About Us” emails to organisations.

A representative from Welsh Government updated us. They have asked us to become involved in reviewing some of the Public Health documents. Ministers have invested £5 million towards ending homelessness and are supporting local authorities to provide longer term housing solutions. The three regional Suicide Prevention Coordinators have been appointed and an announcement about suicide prevention grant funding will be made soon. Welsh Government is working with the voluntary sector to develop a framework for better engagement in recognition that there is not enough work in partnership with smaller mental health charities in particular.

The Welsh Government is reviewing the Together for Mental Health and Talk to Me 2 delivery plans to strengthen areas which have been particularly impacted by Covid and to review timescales for delivery on one year actions. The revised plans will be presented at the National Partnership Board and the National Advisory Group in September for feedback. Equalities is one area where there will really be a focus, along with housing and homelessness, wellbeing and public health, and financial impacts. A number of Tier 0 interventions such as online self-help resources have been established. There have been some rapid reviews to changes made during lockdown which are being coordinated by the NHS – on what works based on user surveys and staff feedback.

One thing which Ainsley Blaydon (Mental Health Strategy Lead for Welsh Government) would like is feedback about what it has been like as a “service user” under Covid so I mentioned to her that we had done a survey of people under services in Powys.

Sarah on an interview panel for mental health services at the health board

Previously I have not been able to access the Forum working groups as they have been in South Wales and I don’t like to travel because of my anxiety. Covid has meant that a lot of these meetings are on Zoom so I have been able to join a couple which is really exciting. From each health board you have two service user and two carer reps and they are automatically invited to the Forum. Because of the number of health boards in the South there feels more of a South Wales representation – sometimes it feels like we are forgotten in the North. If I was in the working groups I felt I would have more of a sense of belonging so I joined the Equality and Diversity Group because that is my strong suit and also because there is inequality in representation.

In the group they have identified people they want to join – these are people from travelling communities, those experiencing homelessness, LGBTQIA, digitally excluded and Welsh language speakers. So I asked – do you even know who in the Forum fits into these categories? I’m here, I fit into the homelessness one because I’ve been made homeless. So I made them look inwards at the start – and now I’m doing some of that work. I was assigned the LGBTQIA list, so I did a lot of Google searching on all the different groups – most of them are Facebook groups and very hard to find, which is something we need to tackle, but I have compiled a list.

When I joined the Forum I just turned up, there was no Equality & Diversity form, so I’m creating a form I’ve dubbed the “Diversity Form”. It’s optional whether people fill out the details about their gender, sexuality, race – the usual equal opportunities but extended so that we can identify specific groups like people who use Personality Disorder Services or Eating Disorder Services or have been homeless. At the end of the document we explain that we are looking for people from these specific groups to talk about their experiences if they are comfortable with that.

I then joined the Future Planning group – one of the questions they have posed is – “Why are we losing so many members? Why can’t we get people to join?” So I explained that there are a lot of people from South Wales and if you’re not from there you feel left out, plus some of the topics don’t really apply to us in Powys. 

At the last Forum meeting the special topic was “Alternative to inpatient care,” which is good but as I said it would be nice to have the basics in Powys. We do not have a 24-hour crisis team – all the other areas do. When I was an outpatient at the Child & Adolescent Unit in Bridgend I missed out on the therapies, treatments and groups that are available to people who live locally. As a Powys resident I saw two different people who came up to Powys for two days a week for half a day by comparison. So one of the suggestions I made was to make it more welcoming to people so there isn’t that divide.

Locally I’ve been invited to join interview panels which I’ve really enjoyed – I did the Suicide & Self Harm Coordinator’s role, a Harm Reduction role and a Crisis Team Practitioner. My thoughts were totally taken into consideration and it was a really good experience. 

Many thanks to Sarah for telling us about the Forum meetings. If you would like to find out more about volunteering as a mental health “citizen rep” in Powys then get in touch with us by emailing mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk or call 01597 822191 and ask to speak to Owen Griffkin.

Sharing power - in the planning and reviewing of services

Just before Christmas 2019 I attended this training event in Llandrindod run by my two Participation Officer colleagues – Owen Griffkin (Mental Health - above) and Andrew Davies (Health & Wellbeing - below).

The aim of the day was to build the confidence, knowledge and skills of participants, some of whom were already volunteering as citizen or individual reps, so that they could effectively participate in the planning and reviewing of services with public bodies. Citizen reps volunteer their time, energy and passion to make a difference for others and to the services we receive, and are helping influence change at local, regional and national levels.

Some of the participants are citizen reps on the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Board, whilst others regularly sit on the Powys Regional Partnership Board.

Setting ground rules for the day

The key learning of the day was around: 

• Communicating confidently and effectively in meetings.
• Knowing where to access relevant information.
• Better understanding the process and procedures involved.
• Better understanding the public bodies involved.

As people introduced themselves at the start of the day it was really interesting to hear the views of those in contact with services, and others who had been citizen reps for some time already:

“Although organisations are individually very good, together they shall never meet.”

“I like to become a thorn in people’s sides. I enjoy arguing the point although I can accept both ways. A 360 degree view of services is so much better.”

It’s not possible to cover the full extent of the training in a short blog post, so I shall just highlight some of the particularly interesting discussions which took place on the day.

Representing other people

As a citizen rep you are an equal partner with other professionals in the room - you are an expert by experience. But how do you gain the experience of other people and take their stories to a partnership board?

One of the reps spoke about how he represents his own experience as a carer, but also takes stories with him from local carers’ groups that he attends. “You need to be mindful for it not to be just about yourself but to cast the net and make the representation whole. You are in effect a Citizen Rep (representing a group of people with a common interest) but also a Representative Citizen (giving your own opinions)." 

Another participant said: “It’s really hard to put yourself to one side. Sometimes you might be putting a viewpoint forward that you don’t believe in. It’s about delivering it in way that doesn’t put people off, or bore people, or become too personal.” There are some very polarizing issues about the medicalisation of mental health, for example, but it is important for a rep to balance any views s/he may have and give the other side as well.

Understanding other people’s context

Another experienced citizen rep pointed out that certain things cannot change. 

“There is no point banging your head against a brick wall that can only be changed from the top down.”

When things don’t go well – and when they do

Sometimes it can be easy to ask – “why are we here if we don’t have any influence?” It was felt that some meetings were a waste of time, and only “tick box” exercises. “Sometimes the public body will just move on to the next item on the agenda as if we have not spoken. We have been invited to speak, but it sometimes feels just so that they can tick that box.”

Someone representing a local charity described how it took her three years to be heard within one public body. But eventually her persistence paid off, and the organisation was finally able to achieve some funding for a much needed project.

It was, though, also agreed that sometimes staff within an organisation may also be struggling with the slow rate of change – but sometimes the decision making process, and the accountability attached to it, require that change to go through and be agreed by many different committees.

New reps often have very high expectations in the early days, but these need to be managed from the start.

“Don’t promise the earth. It’s the small steps that are important. And publicising the success stories.”

You said, we did

Everyone agreed on the value of prompt feedback from the boards about progress. “Even if that is – we’re still driving this forward but we haven’t got anywhere yet.” Otherwise there is an understandable tendency for people to think – “what’s the point?”

The mock meeting

In the afternoon we were pleased to welcome our former colleague Freda Lacey, now Partnership Manager Mental Health at Powys Teaching Health Board, to chair a mock meeting designed to put into practice all the learning from earlier in the day. It turned out to be an extremely interesting and valuable exercise.

All those attending agreed that they had benefitted hugely from the day, both from the learning and the opportunity also to network with others who had a similar role.

And finally…

Would you be interested in joining these citizen reps to take grass-root views and opinions to local board meetings where service providers can find out what is working and what needs to change? For further information about becoming a citizen rep, in the field of mental health or health and social care, just get in touch with us by emailing mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

Sharing power in the planning and reviewing of services

Last Thursday I attended this training event at our Llandrindod office run by two Participation Officer colleagues – Carla Rosenthal and Carol Hay. As one of the attendees reported later it was “interactive, engaging and full of useful content”.

The session was arranged specifically for people who want to become citizen representatives (and a couple who already are). It is key to our work in the mental health team, and specifically for our Comic Relief funded project Stand up! for emotional health and wellbeing, that reps are recruited and well trained. Citizen reps volunteer their time, energy and passion to make a difference for others and to the services we receive, and are helping influence change at local, regional and national levels. We wrote about the achievements of mental health reps Rhydian Parry and Jan Rogers on this blog in Powys voices count at the top a couple of years ago.

This training session brought together two groups of individuals – those interested in sitting on the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Partnership and a second cohort who recently started sitting round the table of the Health & Social Care Regional Partnership Board. Their ages and backgrounds were quite varied, with experience of mental health nursing, the Royal Air Force, specific health diagnoses and carers’ views all brought to the session. The module was based on a training package that was co-produced by mental health team volunteers and Participation Cymru, reflecting on the experiences of people who were interacting and engaging with organisations to shape mental health services.

It isn’t possible to cover the entire session in one blog post, so I’ll highlight a couple of areas and also focus on the points made by the two guest speakers, Sue Hughes – Coordinator Regional Partnership Board at Powys County Council, and Louisa Kerr – Mental Health Partnership Manager at Powys Teaching Health Board.

It was fascinating to hear at the start of the day what people thought about the title of the training, and in particular what “sharing power” meant to them. One of the reps’ responsibilities is to attend meetings with service providers, either locally or nationally (or both) and feedback grassroots opinions about current services. Comments included:

• You will be listened to.
• To be working alongside people as equal partners.
• To be part of the process.
• Using personal knowledge and experience to shape services.
• Sharing with other people what I have learnt.
• Being a team player.

Carla and Carol spoke about the importance of first impressions, being prepared and planning well, and emphasised that reps are representing other people – not just themselves and their own views – when sitting on the boards. “It is key to know who you represent, what is important to that group, and the key messages you want partner organisations to hear”. 

There was an interesting discussion about how it felt to sit around the table as a 'service user'. Whilst acknowledging that they brought a valid experience and were viewed as an equal some felt it put them on the back foot. Language, it was agreed, is extremely important. Some people felt comfortable being described as ‘experts’, whilst others said it was difficult being called ‘a carer’: “I’m a Mum. You’re given a label and boxed somehow. I find that really hard. People have masses more to bring other than being a service user.”

Sue and Louisa both emphasised that when individuals express their views passionately they are as important as anyone around the table. Sometimes we can box things in our own minds when actually we are being valued by everyone else there. “Everybody’s the same. There is no distinction between workers, volunteers and individuals. It’s about people coming together to talk informally. Collectively we are experts."

Carla and Carol went on to highlight the importance of researching partner organisations before attending meetings, and then we looked at “facts and assumptions”. “If I see a policewoman I might feel anxious. Guilty. Worried that she might arrest me. But that is an assumption. The only fact is that she is a policewoman, and I have to leave behind all the assumptions or I’ll be a nervous wreck.”

Sue then gave us a brief background to the Social Services & Wellbeing (Wales) Act which sets out the requirements for the Health & Social Care Regional Partnership Boards. Legally it is a requirement for citizens to sit on the boards. There is a need for people to work differently – for culture change – as the Act is all about the citizen’s voice. "We all need to challenge officers working in services to make sure they have involved citizens, but also to give praise where it is warranted".

Sue also spoke about how to use effective questioning at meetings. “Officers don’t encourage passivity as we won’t then have the opportunity to improve things. If you don’t understand a presentation as it’s not in lay language then it doesn’t comply with the Act. It has to be easily understandable language. You can raise this nicely – but the officers need to know.”

Louisa then provided us with an introduction to the Powys Mental Health Planning and Development Partnership Board which has been meeting for 2 years now. Mental health is governed by different legislation to Health & Social Care, so we look to the Mental Health Measure (Wales) for guidance, but there is much crossover. We learnt more about the various subgroups of the PMHPDP, including Engage to Change (looking at issues raised at the Stand up! for emotional health & wellbeing meetings), Performance, a Mental Health Officers’ Group and S136 Criminal Justice. Louisa recalled the first meeting of the board she attended where citizen reps Kate, Meriel and Rhydian spoke. “It was profound, and changed the dynamic of the meeting. Everyone was listening. That is the most important thing.”

By the afternoon we moved on to sessions on assertiveness, getting the most out of a meeting, and the support that Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations can provide to people. There were some intriguing slides on the nature of power, and specifically the 3 Faces of Power as described by Steven Lukes. And finally there were a few tips on building self-confidence – which can help us all in all areas of our lives. 

All in all a thoroughly interesting day, and we managed to have a fair few laughs too as we introduced ourselves early on in fictional roles as “superheroes, tooth fairies, aliens, scarecrows and witches”! 

Would you be interested in joining these citizen reps to take grass-root views and opinions to local board meetings where service providers can find out what is working and what needs to change? For further information about becoming a citizen rep in Powys, in the field of mental health or health and social care, just get in touch with us by emailing mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.