World Mental Health Day 2026: from lived experience to better prevention, treatment and care

World Mental Health Day 2026: from lived experience to better prevention, treatment and care

Published October 09, 2026

World Mental Health Day, observed annually on 10 October, provides an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health, challenge stigma and strengthen efforts to ensure that people can access the support and care they need. Mental health affects every part of society, from families and workplaces to schools, communities and public services. Creating an environment in which people feel able to speak openly and seek help remains an important part of prevention and early intervention.

This year’s theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”, places particular emphasis on recognising the knowledge and experience of persons who have faced mental health challenges first hand. Giving greater attention to lived experience can help shape policy, improve services and strengthen care systems. It can also contribute to reducing stigma and ensuring that mental health services remain person centred, responsive and respectful of the dignity of those who seek support.

From lived experience to prevention, treatment and care

The principles behind this year’s World Mental Health Day have a strong connection with the theme chosen by the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman for its 2026 thematic lecture: “Mental health risks and concerns: strategic goals and best practices for prevention, treatment and care”.

Listening is central to both. The experiences of persons who use mental health services can help institutions understand what works, where difficulties arise and how services can respond better. This is also closely connected to the work of an Ombudsman. Complaints and experiences brought forward by persons provide an important insight into how public services operate in practice and can help identify opportunities for improvement.

The thematic lecture will provide a forum to consider mental health from clinical, policy and societal perspectives. The discussion will address prevention, the development of modern services for severe mental illness, learning from serious incidents, appropriate diagnosis and treatment, workforce wellbeing and the importance of ensuring that mental health is treated with the same seriousness as physical health. These discussions complement the message of World Mental Health Day that effective mental health policy should be informed by professional expertise and by the experiences of the persons whom services are intended to support.

International expertise

The thematic lecture will bring together three prominent speakers from the United Kingdom.

Baroness Professor Clare Gerada DBE is Lead for the NHS Primary Care Gambling Service, a general practitioner and a former President and Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She established NHS Practitioner Health, a confidential service supporting doctors and other healthcare professionals experiencing mental health and related difficulties. Her work has focused extensively on primary care, mental health, early intervention and the wellbeing of healthcare professionals.

Dr Adrian James is Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity at NHS England and served as President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists from 2020 to 2023. His work has focused on mental health policy, service improvement, workforce wellbeing and equality in healthcare. He has also been a strong advocate for parity of esteem between mental and physical health and for strengthening services for persons with serious mental illness, autism and learning disabilities.

Professor Sir Simon Wessely GBE FRS is Regius Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College London and a psychiatrist and epidemiologist with extensive experience in psychological medicine and mental health research. His work has covered epidemiology, military health, unexplained symptoms, clinical trials and the ways in which people and populations respond to adversity. His career has also included extensive contributions to mental health policy and interdisciplinary research.

A national discussion in Parliament

The lecture will also include a contribution by Professor Anton Grech, Clinical Chairman of Mental Health Services Malta and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, who will bring a Maltese clinical and service perspective to the discussion. Professor Raymond Galea, Commissioner for Health within the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, will contribute from the perspective of patients’ rights, standards of care and independent oversight.

The thematic lecture will be held on 29 October 2026 in the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives. It will be hosted by the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, who will address the event and participate in the discussion. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Carmelo Abela, will preside over the lecture and will also address those present.

The event has attracted considerable interest. The audience will include Members of Parliament, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executive Officers, Directors and Heads of Department, senior healthcare professionals, academics, and persons occupying other senior managerial and decision-making positions. This broad representation is expected to contribute to a meaningful discussion on the challenges, priorities and opportunities surrounding mental health policy and care.

World Mental Health Day provides an important reminder that progress in mental health depends on awareness, openness, access to appropriate support and a willingness to listen to lived experience. The thematic lecture later this month will take that discussion further, bringing together professional expertise, public policy, institutional responsibility and the experiences of persons in considering how prevention, treatment and care can continue to develop.