Lived Experience Lounge - An Imroc Podcast

About Lived Experience Lounge - An Imroc Podcast

Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast exploring mental health, recovery, and the systems that shape our lives. This is a space for honest conversations about distress, crisis, healing, and what it really means to be human in the middle of it all. We speak with people who use services, deliver them, and work to transform them, exploring recovery-oriented practice, co-production, and peer support in action. Whoever you are, you’re welcome here. Pull up a seat and join us on the sofa.

Publisher

Imroc

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Feb 2026

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Building Coalitions Without Losing Ourselves: Holly Harris on lived experience, social movements, and coalitions.

   We have a guest in the lounge! For the first time ever, we've invited someone in to join us — and we couldn't have picked better. Holly Harris is a research coordinator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and a PhD candidate at York University, and she brings so much warmth and insight to this conversation about lived experience and activism. We get into the history of the consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement in Canada, why social movements fragment, and what it might look like to build coalitions across difference instead of trying to convert or vilify each other. Expect big ideas delivered through brilliant metaphors — pencils in glasses of water, canoes and speedboats, gardens versus wild meadows — and a genuinely hopeful take on where the movement goes from here. Enjoy!

2. 

   19 Aug 2026

   Suicide

   In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge, Emma, Katie and Danny turn to the subject of suicide — exploring its historical and cultural context, the impact of language, and shifting perspectives over time. Speaking from a range of lived experience, including suicidality, survival, and bereavement, they share what they've learned with honesty, tenderness and compassion. This episode contains sensitive content; listener discretion is advised. If you need support: NHS 111 Mental Health (option 2) or Samaritans on 116 123.

3. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Activism

   In this episode of The Lived Experience Lounge, our hosts Danny, Emma, and Katie turn their attention to activism — exploring what it means to stand up for what matters, from placards and marches to the quieter, everyday acts of challenging things within our own communities. Drawing on both academic thinking and our own lived experience, we dig into how power and privilege shape the way we take action, and grapple with the flip side of activism: how to sustain a cause without burning out along the way.

4. 

   24 Jun 2026

   Ep 5 - Stigma and Shame

   This week Katie, Emma and Danny get into stigma and shame — what they actually are, how they show up in daily life, and how exhausting it is to constantly manage how you're perceived. They get honest about their own relationships with shame, whether that's avoiding certain situations entirely, policing what you share with services, or just never quite knowing when it's safe to tell your story. They also get into why so many anti-stigma campaigns fall flat, the role power plays in all of this, and why real change isn't really about educating individuals one by one. Brought to you by Imroc (https://www.imroc.org/).

5. 

   27 May 2026

   04 - Who gets to say Madness Part 2

   In this second part, Katie, Emma, and Danny turn inward — exploring what madness feels like from the inside, and what it has to teach us. From madness as protector to madness as identity, the conversation gets personal and philosophical. They dig into the myth of mental illness, the power of metaphor in extreme experiences, and whether "getting better" means leaving your mad self behind — or learning to live alongside her.

6. 

   7 May 2026

   04 - Who gets to say Madness Part 1

   Let's be honest about madness!Join Katie, Emma, and Danny as they swap stories about their "mad selves" not as enemies to overcome, but as protectors, box-smashers, and core parts of who they are. Time to dig into identity, metaphor, the myth of mental illness, and why "getting better" isn't always the win it's cracked up to be. Find out more about Imroc https://www.imroc.org/ (https://www.imroc.org/)

7. 

   31 Mar 2026

   03 - What is Peer Support, Really?

   What actually counts as peer support? In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge, we explore the origins, evolution, and tensions within peer support in mental health. From grassroots activism and survivor-led movements to its integration into modern services, we ask: what makes peer support distinct, and what risks emerge as it becomes professionalised? We reflect on peer support as both a philosophy and a practice, rooted in shared experience, relational connection, and intentional storytelling. Is it defined by lived experience alone, or by the skills, boundaries, and values that shape how that experience is used? This becomes a conversation about power, connection, and care, and what happens when something deeply human meets a system that struggles to understand what peer support can offer. We discuss: The historical roots of peer support, from activism to modern services What defines a “peer” and who gets to claim that identity Peer support as relational practice vs professional role The tension between grassroots values and system integration The risks of commodification, burnout, and loss of authenticity Why peer support is hard to measure, yet deeply impactful The role of training, boundaries, and intentional storytelling How shared experience creates safety, connection, and possibility Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast hosted by Emma Watson, Danny Bowyer and Katie Mottram. Imroc is a mental health charity based in England focused on transforming systems and communities by centring lived experience. Its work spans peer support, recovery colleges, research and evaluation, community development, and relational approaches to care. To learn more, visit imroc.org or follow Imroc on LinkedIn.

8. 

   2 Mar 2026

   02 - What Counts as Lived Experience?

   What do we really mean when we talk about “lived experience”? In this episode of Lived Experience Lounge, we explore the philosophical roots, political dimensions, and practical realities of lived experience in mental health. Is it simply experience that has been labelled or diagnosed? Is it embodied knowledge? Is it an identity, a role, a form of power, or all of the above? We reflect on lived experience as a way of knowing, the tensions between professional and peer identities, and the risks of hierarchy and competition within lived experience spaces. We also ask what distinguishes lived experience leadership from compassionate, values-based leadership more broadly. This is a conversation about embodiment, power, storytelling, systems, and the responsibility that comes with turning experience into influence. We discuss: The philosophical roots of lived experience Embodied knowledge vs objective knowledge Lived experience as identity and as expertise Hierarchies and competitiveness within lived experience spaces The difference between “peer” and “lived experience” roles Emotional labour and the performance of lived experience Leadership, power and co-production How collective change might reduce the need for new lived experience Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast hosted by Emma Watson, Danny Bowyer and Katie Mottram. Imroc is a mental health charity based in England focused on transforming systems and communities by centring lived experience. Its work spans peer support, recovery colleges, research and evaluation, community development, and relational approaches to care. To learn more, visit imroc.org or follow Imroc on LinkedIn.

9. 

   2 Mar 2026

   01 - What Even Is Recovery?

   What does recovery actually mean, and who gets to define it? In this first full episode of Lived Experience Lounge, we explore the history of the recovery movement and the tensions that sit beneath the word. From its roots in the survivor movement to its adoption within services, recovery has meant many different things to different people. We reflect on clinical recovery, personal recovery, collective recovery, and whether the word still feels useful. We also share parts of our own journeys and how our understanding of recovery has shifted over time. This is an open conversation about language, power, systems, identity, and what it means to reclaim autonomy in a world that often feels anything but safe. We Discuss: The origins of the recovery movement Clinical recovery vs personal recovery “Recovery in the Bin” and critiques of the concept Reclamation, autonomy and collective wellbeing Resilience, endurance and political context The relationship between individual distress and social systems Whether we would return to who we were “before” Why recovery may be less about certainty and more about conversation Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast hosted by Emma Watson, Danny Bowyer and Katie Mottram. Imroc is a mental health charity based in England focused on transforming systems and communities by centring lived experience. Its work spans peer support, recovery colleges, research and evaluation, community development, and relational approaches to care. To learn more, visit imroc.org or follow Imroc on LinkedIn.

10. 

    1 Mar 2026

    Who Are We? Meet Emma, Danny, and Katie

    In this mini episode of Lived Experience Lounge, we introduce ourselves. Emma, Danny, and Katie share parts of their personal and professional journeys into mental health work, peer support, and lived experience leadership. We reflect on crisis, recovery, identity, and the messy, ongoing process of making sense of it all. This isn’t a tidy origin story. It’s a conversation about becoming, questioning, unlearning, and finding belonging in a field that doesn’t always make space for complexity. We also talk about what we hope this podcast offers: a space for generative conversation, disagreement, curiosity, and permission to explore your own understanding of distress and recovery. We discuss: Our lived experience journeys Peer support and recovery work Questioning the medical model Identity, crisis and “breakthrough” moments Learning, unlearning and evolving perspectives What we hope listeners take from the podcast Why it’s okay not to have all the answers Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast hosted by Emma Watson, Danny Bowyer and Katie Mottram. Imroc is a mental health charity based in England focused on transforming systems and communities by centring lived experience. Its work spans peer support, recovery colleges, research and evaluation, community development, and relational approaches to care. To learn more, visit imroc.org or follow Imroc on LinkedIn.

11. 

    27 Feb 2026

    What Is Imroc? Values, Recovery and System Change

    In this mini episode of Lived Experience Lounge, we explore the story, values and purpose behind Imroc. From its beginnings as a recovery-focused consultancy to its evolving role in supporting community development, peer support, recovery colleges and system transformation, we unpack what makes Imroc distinct. We talk about lived experience leadership, relational care, working inside and outside systems, and why change requires both challenge and compassion. This conversation also introduces the spirit behind the podcast itself – creating space for complexity, dialogue and learning without pretending to have all the answers. We discuss: How Imroc began and why it still exists Recovery-oriented practice and Imroc's “ten organisational challenges” The role of peer support and recovery colleges Why lived experience leadership matters Working with communities as well as services Trauma-responsive and relational approaches to care The balance between challenge and collaboration Why a podcast feels like the right space for these conversations Lived Experience Lounge is an Imroc podcast hosted by Emma Watson, Danny Bowyer and Katie Mottram. Imroc is a mental health charity based in England focused on transforming systems and communities by centring lived experience. Its work spans peer support, recovery colleges, research and evaluation, community development, and relational approaches to care. To learn more, visit imroc.org or follow Imroc on LinkedIn.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

3.0 / 5

10 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.