On the 10 October 2026, World Mental Health Day, promoted by the World Federation for Mental Health, is observed.

This year’s theme, ‘Listening to Lived Experience: Real Voices, Real Change’, emphasises the genuine involvement of people with first-hand experience of mental ill health in decisions that affect their lives.

Lived experience refers to the knowledge gained through personally experiencing a particular condition, which differs from, and complements, knowledge acquired through study or external observation. All too often, people experiencing mental ill health are invited to share their stories, only to remain excluded from actual decision-making processes. Genuine involvement should, in fact, go beyond listening: it means giving these individuals the opportunity to influence decisions, co-design services, promote peer-led approaches, challenge stigma and strengthen accountability within healthcare systems.

One of the most urgent priorities concerns the transition away from long-stay psychiatric institutions towards community-based care that is centred on the individual. Institutions tend to isolate people and are often associated with inadequate care, coercion and human rights violations. For this reason, the WHO will publish operational guidelines on deinstitutionalisation, a process that requires careful planning of funding, services and support to ensure that people can live with dignity in their own communities.

Data collected through the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024 survey show that progress remains limited:

• 37% of countries have involved people with lived experience of mental ill health in the training of primary healthcare workers;
• 45% work on an ongoing basis with people with lived experience and family/carer groups in service planning;
•  59% have developed their mental health legislation in consultation with people with direct experience;
• 80% of countries with a mental health policy or plan have developed it in consultation with these individuals.

With regard to deinstitutionalisation, only 9% of countries have completed the transition to community-based models, while 53% remain in the early stages. Hospital admission figures are also concerning: almost half (49%) of admissions are involuntary, and more than one in five (23%) last longer than a year.

People who have experienced mental ill health possess a unique form of knowledge that cannot be replaced by professional training or scientific research. They are able to identify barriers that others may overlook and help ensure that policies and services address real needs rather than merely theoretical ones.

Despite positive signs, meaningful involvement is not yet widespread practice, and the transition to community-based care is progressing far too slowly. This year’s theme is therefore a call to recognise lived experience as an essential source of knowledge for tackling stigma, improving care pathways and building mental health systems that are more participatory, inclusive and genuinely centred on people.