Tell a More Powerful Tale -- Shifting the Narrative of Suicide Prevention by Engaging People with Lived Experience: Interview with Bronwen Edwards | Episode 95

"Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into the future so that we can take the next step… If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.” — Ivan Illich

Storytellers in suicide prevention have the power to shift culture and change the world in ways other stakeholders are not able to do. Our “voices of insight” have influence and shape others’ understanding on a deep level. People with lived experience seek to stand in solidarity with our research colleagues, policy champions and mental health professionals to embed our deep wisdom in a processes of partnership. In this podcast, I speak with the world renowned Bronwen Edwards, a global authority on the power of lived experience to drive large scale change in suicide prevention. We talk about how we can approach our partners — who may have different values, priorities and points of view — with “compassionate curiosity” so we can “collaborate the big collaboration” (instead of “fight the good fight”).

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About Bronwen Edwards

Bronwen is the CEO of Roses in the Ocean, a national lived experience of suicide organisation that has spent the last decade building the capacity of people with lived experience to utilise their voice and insights to inform, influence and enhance suicide prevention, and the capacity of communities, organisations and government to meaningfully engage with them.

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Having advocated for non-clinical alternatives to traditional services for many years, Bronwen and Roses in the Ocean also work with communities to co-design new service models including safe spaces, develop and support the critical suicide prevention peer workforce, and continue to drive and support the implementation of system reform.

Bronwen holds a variety of state and national advisory positions, to which she first and foremost brings her personal lived experience of suicide to the table, while also striving to honour the vast perspectives of others she has been privileged to work with and walk alongside over many years.

Bronwen is the Co-Chair of the International Association of Suicide Prevention Special Interest Group: Lived Experience.

Show Notes

About Bronwen & Roses in the Ocean

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Additional Australian and US Suicide Research and Resources

Standing in Solidarity

  • Part 1: Standing in Solidarity for Suicide Prevention -- What Do We Mean by Solidarity and Why Does it Matter to Suicide Prevention?https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/dr-sally-speaks-blog/solidarity1

  • Part 2: Standing in Solidarity for Suicide Prevention -- Healing from Communal Wounding https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/dr-sally-speaks-blog/solidarity2

  • Part 3: Standing in Solidarity for Suicide Prevention -- Acting in Solidarity as a Way Forward https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/dr-sally-speaks-blog/solidarity3

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