Mental health service users in Greater Manchester are playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of psychological therapy training, thanks to a pioneering initiative by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
A cohort of 15 ‘experts by experience’, individuals with lived experience of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, are working alongside GMMH’s Psychological Therapies Training Centre to transform how new CBT practitioners are trained. Their insights are helping to raise the bar for mental health education, ensuring that training is grounded in real-world understanding and empathy.
The training centre, one of only three in the North West offering this specialised programme, currently supports 37 CBT trainees on a one-year course. While academic theory remains essential, the integration of service user feedback has become a cornerstone of the curriculum.
From May 2023, video recordings have been used to help ‘experts by experience’ reflect on and share their journeys. These edited clips are now a regular feature in training sessions, offering powerful, authentic learning moments for trainees.
CBT is a widely used therapeutic approach for conditions such as:
- Depression
- Social anxiety
- Personality disorders
- Complex Emotional and Relational Needs (CERN)
- PTSD
- OCD
- Psychosis
By involving those who have undergone CBT—or cared for someone who has—the programme ensures that future therapists are not only clinically competent but also deeply attuned to the human side of mental health care.
Participation Lead (Adult Programmes) at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT, Anthony O’Connor, commented:
“As well as gathering service users’ stories and putting these stories in the room with our trainee therapists, we have been co-designing and co-producing a range of videos with our experts by experience to maximise engagement and thus, the learning process.
“We have produced several new formats where they take part and constantly assess the impact of these while we are always looking to refine and improve our techniques.
“From our ongoing interaction with the wider therapist training community, we know that what we do here is seen as raising the bar and setting very high standards when it comes to service user engagement. The training centre already has a national reputation for excellence, and we believe that this addition to our programmes puts us at the forefront of training delivery.
“We also have nearly two years of continuous and ongoing feedback from our trainees telling us that having people with lived experience so involved in the programme makes a significant and positive difference to the quality of their education.”
An ‘expert by experience’ is more than a guest speaker—they are co-educators. Their contributions help trainees understand the nuances of therapy from the patient’s perspective, fostering greater compassion, communication, and clinical insight.
This initiative reflects a broader shift in mental health services: placing service users at the heart of care design and delivery. GMMH’s approach is already being recognised as a model for best practice across the UK.
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