OT Mental Health Consumer Co-Delivered Curriculum

The OT Mental Health Consumer Co-Delivered Curriculum is a partnership between ACU's Occupational Therapy program and an independent team of mental health consumer educators and advocates. "Mental Health Consumers" refers to community members who are clients of mental health services. The partnership focuses on the co-production of the mental health curriculum in the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, meaning consumer educators are involved in the design, delivery, and evaluation of teaching and learning. The partnership has been active since 2013 and reaches approximately 250 students per year across Brisbane, North Sydney, and Melbourne campuses through two units: OTHY205 Mental Health Recovery in Occupational Therapy 1 and OTHY301 Mental Health Recovery in Occupational Therapy 2.

Why it matters

Occupational therapy students need more than clinical knowledge to work effectively in mental health settings. Hearing directly from people with lived experience of mental illness challenges assumptions, builds empathy, and prepares students for the realities of practice in ways that traditional teaching cannot. Programs designed with communities, rather than for them, are more responsive to real needs and more likely to create lasting change.