Expertise by Experience at Niemikoti Foundation

Where did it all begin?

It all started with a development project on incorporating lived experience expertise into our activities. The management of the Niemikoti Foundation wanted to create a training model for Experts by Experience tailored to the foundation.

The difference between peer support and Expert-by-Experience activities lies in the target group. A peer works within their own reference group, alongside other rehabilitants. An Expert by Experience, on the other hand, works outside their own reference group, within services and alongside professionals. Experts by Experience receive specific training for their roles.

The first step

was to contact Kaj Collin, a trainer from the Finnish Central Association for Mental Health.

Kaj came to learn about the foundation’s activities and to hear our wishes. The aim was to receive training tailored specifically for us, with Kaj and his colleague Nina acting as our “mentors” as we began to build our own training model based on the knowledge we received.

We were offered a customized training program, the content of which we approved. The next step was to start looking for participants. For the pilot training, we sought 10 peers and 10 professionals, ensuring that participants would represent as many different sectors of the foundation’s work as possible.

The first three training days

were held in December 2015, one of them being a joint session for peers and professionals. The second two-day training period took place in February, and by then we were already producing the content ourselves together with 10 professionals. We focused on topics that the peers had identified as important—something we continue to collect to this day.

In spring 2016, eight Experts by Experience graduated, two of whom are now involved in training new groups. In the autumn, we organized an Expert-by-Experience camp at Niemikoti Foundation’s holiday center in Kesäharju, Iitti. There, the members of this “pilot group” designed the framework for the next training and selected two professional–Expert-by-Experience pairs from among themselves to lead upcoming training days. In December 2016, a new group started: 10 peers and 5 professionals. The training consists of 2+2+1 days, followed by the autumn camp, which also includes previously trained participants.

Inclusive and empowering

The Expert-by-Experience training is built on a participatory framework. Its goal is to strengthen the involvement of service users in the planning of services.

Expert-by-Experience work also includes many elements that support employment, as the activities help participants to assess, discover, and strengthen their own resources. Acting as an Expert by Experience provides a sense of inclusion. Depending on their strengths and interests, Experts by Experience can participate by working alongside professionals, leading various groups, or contributing to service development. They provide valuable knowledge that must be taken into account when designing services. In other words, we are working together to realize shared goals and dreams. The roles of service users and professionals have changed, as the expertise of both is now equally valued.

Participation in society is important for everyone.