Become an expert by experience (EbE)

An EbE is someone who has lived experience and brings insights and knowledge from their personal experience to improve services and make positive changes. This includes sharing the positives and the challenges of accessing services and support.

Lived experience is gained by personally going through something in your life, rather than learning it through education or training. This could include experiences with mental health problems, learning disabilities, neurodiversity, physical health conditions, or many other situations.

At Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT) EbEs work together with project teams to make decisions together. Most EbE roles are paid, and this depends on your participation level. EbEs are not members of staff, instead they are hosted by partner organisations who arrange payment and provide additional support. We do also have job roles for people with lived experience. 

Anyone who has lived experience related to our service areas can become an EbE. These include mental health, learning disability, neurodiversity and children's physical health services.

You may have this experience yourself, or as a family member, friend or carer. Becoming an EBE is a flexible way to get involved in projects that relate to your own lived experience and make a lasting difference. You will be invited to join in projects that are relevant to you, and you can tell us if you want to be involved.

As an EBE, you could be involved in a wide range of projects and activities. You might:

• use your own experiences and insights to help improve CWPT services
• be involved in service design, recruitment, or providing feedback on policies and practices
• help ensure that services are more responsive, compassionate, and effective for people who may receive them
• offer a different but equally important viewpoint when co-creating or co-reviewing services.

Your lived experience should match the topic being discussed as a part of the project. For example, if a project focuses on inpatient mental healthcare, someone who has lived experience of being a patient within a mental health hospital would be matched to that work. A person may have this experience themselves, or they may have it indirectly as a family member, friend, or carer.

At CWPT we will support you with an induction and training so you can share your lived experience safely before you join any projects as an EbE. Courses delivered by the Recovery and Wellbeing Academy may also support your development within this role.

We work in partnership with a range of voluntary, community, social enterprise and faith-based organisations across the local area who host EbEs. These organisations will provide additional support and organise your payment.