As Michael Ryan stepped onto the Circle Line train, the whirl of activity instantly transported him back to a time, years earlier, when he had slept rough on the tube. It was a surreal moment. Back then, Michael came to London to try to escape from the trauma of a life sabotaged by mental illness and addiction. Today, he is travelling from Ireland with his 18-year-old son to watch Arsenal play Everton – a cherished moment heralded by a journey very different to the one he took alone, all those years ago, when he was not much older than his son is now.
Although the sounds, sights and busyness of the tube remain the same, Michael’s emotions, thoughts and perceptions are completely different; darkness and despair have been replaced by joy and a deep sense of gratitude – a powerful testimony to the fact that recovery is not only possible but can also be life-changing. Rather than a vague philosophical or clinical concept, and even from the most challenging mental health and addiction problems, Michael is proof that recovery is real. He is now the Head of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery for the Irish Health Service Executive. So, how did he go from sleeping on the tube and being a mental health service user to becoming a manager of health services himself?
Living proof of hope
The key turning point, or the catalyst in his words, was meeting a man who had been through similar mental health issues but was sufficiently recovered to provide support to others. Michael explains that it was seeing that he had lived through experiences close to his own that made the difference.
“I believed what he was saying because I could see the evidence of his life. He told me that I had to decide what my problem was. He said that it was evident there was something wrong in my life, and I had to figure out what it was for myself.” The conversation also kick-started a shift in his thinking. Michael gradually went from considering himself medically defective and someone who needed to be institutionalized to someone who could take action for his own well-being.
The fact that the other man had taken the time to come into the hospital to help others increased Michael’s trust in him. This man embodied the hope that Michael so desperately needed.
"Recovery is everyone’s business"
Michael went on to become a living experience volunteer and a peer support worker himself. With recognition and support from both nongovernmental organizations and the Irish health services, he became the first Head of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery, with influence over wider policy decisions, service development and delivery.
His work shows how integrating lived and living experience involves influencing health policy and system change to make services more person-centred and recovery-focused. Examples include employing regional staff to focus on engaging people with lived/living experience to help improve services at different policy levels, and a lived/living experience awareness day to reduce the stigma of living with mental health issues. Recovery colleges support people with lived/living experience to co-create their own adult educational courses based on individual needs and in collaboration with family members and clinicians. All these initiatives recognize that mental health is not just about the elimination of symptoms but also a socioeconomic issue that affects wider communities.
As Michael puts it, recovery is everyone’s business.
Recovery-oriented services
Despite living a full life, Michael is very open about the fact that he is still in the process of recovery and that mental health challenges remain. He describes himself as recovered but not cured and continues to strive to achieve his full potential as a person.
What “recovery” means in someone’s life should be up to the individual themselves to define. It is a personal process of building a meaningful life, even if you have ongoing mental health problems. This WHO definition emphasizes hope, autonomy and the pursuit of individual goals, which is quite different from traditional, clinical definitions, which focus on symptom reduction.
Reflecting on his London tube journey, Michael says recovery is about what is important and fulfilling in all our lives, “somewhere to live, someone to love, something to do...” Most importantly, it means not forgetting that he is still the same person he was when he slept on the tube all those years ago, and that is more than okay.
Michael has learned to manage his mental health and integrate his lived experience to a point where it has become a source of motivation and expertise in his life.
When his son was in his early years at school, a teacher asked him what his favourite game was, and he replied, “playing with my dad”. Michael remembers this incident and reflects that recovery means being able to do everyday things like going to see Arsenal against Everton, even if father and son do support opposing teams.
Background
The WHO roadmap for integrating lived and living experience practitioners into policy, services and community was developed by a taskforce which included people with lived/living experience and expertise, including Michael. It was published in June 2025 and is being followed up by 2 workshops in 2026 to support its implementation across initially nine European countries. The intention is to create a body of expertise and a network which supports the inclusion of lived/living experience practitioners and recovery-orientated practice across European Union countries as well as Norway and Iceland.
These activities are funded under WHO/Europe’s contribution agreement with the European Commission, “Addressing mental health challenges in the European Union, Iceland and Norway”.