Lyndsay McCann – Peer Support Worker
Lyndsay McCann is a Peer Support Worker with the Psychosis Research Unit at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. She recently joined the unit to support the delivery of the Let’s Talk 2 trial, bringing previous experience of providing peer support within a community-based clinical service.
Lyndsay’s work is grounded in the values of understanding, respect, shared experience and hope. Peer support offers people the opportunity to speak with someone who can relate to aspects of their experiences from a personal perspective, helping to create conversations that feel collaborative, supportive and less defined by traditional professional roles.
Within the Let’s Talk 2 trial, Lyndsay will help deliver a peer-supported programme for people who have experienced psychosis and who are affected by mental health stigma. The programme gives participants a confidential and supportive space to explore how stigma and discrimination may have affected their confidence, identity, relationships and recovery. It also helps people consider whether, when and how they may wish to talk about their mental health experiences with others.
Lyndsay helps ensure that lived-experience perspectives remain central to the research. Her role supports the Psychosis Research Unit’s wider commitment to reducing mental health stigma, promoting recovery and developing services in partnership with the people who use them.
Lyndsay is particularly committed to creating supportive conversations in which people feel listened to, respected and able to make decisions that are right for them. Her previous community experience and current research role allow her to help connect peer support with the development and evaluation of new approaches to mental health care.