{"id":54483,"date":"2026-09-29T10:49:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T07:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/?p=54483"},"modified":"2026-10-02T07:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T04:18:37","slug":"participation-is-a-question-of-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/participation-is-a-question-of-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"Participation is a question of equality"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:center;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:center;}.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);grid-template-columns:minmax(0, calc(40% - ((var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem) * 1 )\/2)))minmax(0, calc(60% - ((var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem) * 1 )\/2)));}.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id54483_e484fd-00 alignnone wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-2-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-middle\">\n<style>.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column54483_bafcf2-99\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Participation is not simply about taking part in activities that have already been planned. At Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6, our aim is to ensure that service users have opportunities to influence their own everyday lives, the foundation\u2019s activities and the development of services \u2013 and to share their own experiences and expertise for the benefit of others.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column54483_c44183-1c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column54483_c44183-1c\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"494\" src=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-02-at-7.14.03-1.png\" alt=\"A smiling yellow star is surrounded by five phrases: &quot;Hope and trust,&quot; &quot;Empowerment,&quot; &quot;A meaningful life,&quot; &quot;Positive self-image,&quot; and &quot;Participation and agency.\" class=\"wp-image-54486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-02-at-7.14.03-1.png 750w, https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-02-at-7.14.03-1-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Illustration by Aino S. from the Guide for Experts by Experience<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This idea is closely linked to <a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/about-niemikoti-foundation\/recovery-oriented-approach-as-our-framework\/\">recovery orientation<\/a>. Its starting point is the individual, with their own goals, strengths and experiences. Alongside professional knowledge, we also need an understanding of what services, recovery and everyday life look like from the perspective of the people who use those services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6, this perspective is incorporated in many ways: through experts by experience, peer support, service development and communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turning experience into expertise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6 has been training experts by experience for more than ten years. Preparations for the training programme began in 2015, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/ten-years-of-expert-by-experience-work-celebration-at-kesaharju-brought-together-past-and-future\/\">tenth group graduated in autumn 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the training programme comprises approximately 60 hours over a period of nine months. It explores expertise by experience from many perspectives, including participation, recovery orientation, structuring and sharing one\u2019s own recovery story, supervision, networking, and identifying one\u2019s own skills and strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aim of the training is to reduce prejudice associated with mental health conditions and support people in living meaningful lives by offering opportunities for participation, belonging to a community and having an influence in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who have completed the training can take on a wide range of roles within the foundation. They participate in working groups and service development, work as trainers by experience and peer facilitators, provide peer support, and contribute their expertise at various events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have received a great deal of positive feedback on the training, and interest in it has grown in recent years. This reflects a desire to give personal experiences new meaning by using them to support others and help develop services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our own guide for experts by experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Expert by experience <strong>Aino S.<\/strong> has created Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\u2019s own <em>Guide for Experts by Experience<\/em>. It is intended both for experts by experience in mental health services and for professionals working in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the fundamentals of expertise by experience, the guide covers topics such as ethical principles, recovery orientation, encountering people in recovery, personal wellbeing, recognising and managing stress, and practical advice for working as an expert by experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guide is also a good example of what bringing experiential knowledge alongside professional knowledge can mean in practice: an expert by experience is not merely the recipient of services or someone asked to comment on them, but also a producer of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/dokumentti\/kokemusasiantuntijan-opas\/\">Read the Guide for Experts by Experience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Peer support has a long tradition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside expertise by experience, peer activities have a long tradition at Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6. A good example is <strong>VerNetti<\/strong>, a mental health association run by service users at the Haaga Activity Centre, which <a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/vernetti-20-years-the-service-users-own-association-celebrates-its-long-journey\/\">celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025<\/a>. Peer support, community and doing things together have always been at the heart of the association\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VerNetti and Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\u2019s expert-by-experience activities were also presented to an international audience in September at the European Conference on Mental Health in Prague. Peer facilitator and expert by experience <strong>Kaisa Talvinen<\/strong> and Experience Coordinator <strong>Sirpa Sinisalo<\/strong> presented the work under the title <em>Mental health support society \u201cVernetti\u201d \u2013 20 years of peer power in Helsinki, Finland<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking at an international conference felt daunting beforehand, but the experience left a strong sense of achievement. The presentation generated interest, received positive feedback and brought the service user\u2019s own voice to an international audience of professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is participation in a very concrete form: personal experiences are not shared only within one\u2019s own community, but experiential knowledge can also reach training sessions, working groups and international expert meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/peer-activities-at-haaga-activity-centre-and-our-expert-by-experience-training-presented-at-the-ecmh-conference-in-prague\/\">Read more about VerNetti and Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\u2019s experts by experience in Prague<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Peer support is also part of everyday life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peer support does not only mean trained experts by experience or individual presentations. It is part of everyday activities in many of our units. At the <strong>Haaga Activity Centre<\/strong>, for example, a large proportion of groups are led by trained peer facilitators, who, together with experts by experience, are also offered supervision, further training and recreational activities. Peer support and peer facilitators also play an important role in activities such as <strong>Mieli T\u00f6ihin coaching<\/strong> and <strong>Cultural Workshop Elvis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the heart of peer support is the opportunity to meet someone who has personal experience of similar life situations. Professional support and support based on lived experience do not replace each other; at their best, they complement one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Co-creation means developing services together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participation at Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6 also takes the form of <strong>co-creation<\/strong>, in which service users\u2019 experiences, views and ideas are used in planning and developing activities and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At <strong>Valtti Valmennus<\/strong>, for example, co-creation is an active part of the work. Employment and study coaching services are systematically developed together with service users to better meet their needs. Co-creation is based on the idea that people who use a service possess practical, experience-based knowledge that cannot be replaced by a purely professional perspective. Experts by experience involved in development work also work alongside employment coaches in facilitating coaching groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another important forum for co-creation at Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6 is the <strong>YTR cooperation group<\/strong>. It provides a structure in which the views of service users, alongside those of professionals and representatives of the administration, are included in discussions and development concerning the entire foundation. Participation is therefore not limited to one\u2019s own unit: service users also have opportunities to influence the foundation\u2019s activities more broadly. Experts by experience are also establishing their role in other Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6 working groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The service user\u2019s voice is also heard in communications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, we have increasingly sought to give service users a stronger voice in Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\u2019s communications. It is important that we do not simply tell stories about people, but that they have opportunities to tell their own stories, create content and decide what they consider worth sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A good example is <strong>Haagan Haiku<\/strong>, a magazine created by service users at the Haaga Activity Centre. The magazine is produced collaboratively by a magazine group: participants plan the content, write and proofread texts, and help select images, themes and the publication\u2019s visual style. Contributors take on different roles according to their own interests and strengths. The latest issue of Haiku grew to around 60 pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creating Haiku is about much more than communications. Participants can learn and use skills in writing, photography, illustration, ideation and publishing \u2013 and see the tangible results of their work in a finished magazine. Haiku is therefore a good example of participation in which service users are not recipients of ready-made activities but active creators themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/haagan-haiku-a-magazine-created-together-and-shaped-by-its-time\/\">Read more about Haagan Haiku and the people behind it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our <strong>Hyv\u00e4 mieli customer magazine<\/strong> also publishes texts, images and experiences created by service users. In the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/experts-by-experience\/from-shadows-to-light-blog\/\">Varjoista valoon blog<\/a><\/strong>, writers can explore mental health, recovery and life from their own perspectives, while the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/niilo.me\/\">Niilo.me community platform<\/a><\/strong> provides opportunities for safe communication, discussion, community activities and diverse forms of digital participation online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ultimately, participation is also a question of equality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service users\u2019 experiential knowledge must have a place wherever activities and services affecting them are planned, implemented and evaluated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This does not mean that everyone should want to speak publicly, join a working group or become an expert by experience. Participation also includes the right to choose for oneself how much and in what ways one wishes to take part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\u2019s training for experts by experience, peer facilitator activities, VerNetti, service users\u2019 own publications and digital communities have developed into different ways of putting the same principle into practice: <strong>service users have their own voice and perspective, their own knowledge and expertise \u2013 and there must be room for them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0;\"><div class=\"qrcswholewtapper\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><div class=\"qrcprowrapper\"  id=\"qrcwraa2leds\"><div class=\"qrc_canvass\" id=\"qrc_cuttenpages_2\" style=\"display:none\" data-text=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/participation-is-a-question-of-equality\/\"><\/div><div><a download=\"Participation is a question of equality.png\" class=\"qrcdownloads\" id=\"worign\">\r\n           <button type=\"button\" style=\"min-width:200px;background:#c8fd8c;color:#000;font-weight: 600;border: 1px solid #dddddd;border-radius:4px;font-size:12px;padding: 6px 0;\" class=\"uqr_code_btn\">Lataa QR-koodi<\/button>\r\n           <\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Participation is not simply about taking part in activities that have already been planned. Service users should have the opportunity to influence their own everyday lives and participate in the planning and development of services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[822,1],"tags":[181,135],"yksikkokategoria":[],"sisaltoluokka":[],"class_list":["post-54483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kokemusasiantuntijatoiminta-ja-palvelunkayttajat","category-ajankohtaista","tag-yhteiskehittaminen","tag-kokemusasiantuntijuus"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Participation is a question of equality - Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/niemikoti.fi\/en\/participation-is-a-question-of-equality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Participation is a question of equality - Niemikotis\u00e4\u00e4ti\u00f6\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Participation is not simply about taking part in activities that have already been planned. 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