Bipolar Scotland: Building bridges between lived experience and clinical practice

"Bringing lived experience into what would usually be a very clinically focused event created lots of opportunity for shared learning."

Bipolar Scotland supports people living with bipolar across Scotland, as well as friends, family members and carers. The organisation delivers monthly peer support groups, self-management training and one-to-one peer support for people with a recent diagnosis of bipolar, as well as those looking for peer-led support to help them work or study. It also works to improve understanding of bipolar and ensure that the experiences and voices of people living with the condition are heard in research, policy and practice.

The organisation recognises that the support someone receives from the NHS is only one part of living well with bipolar. Peer support, self-management information and opportunities to connect with people who understand what living with bipolar can be like also play an important role. For that reason, Bipolar Scotland has been advocating for strong connections between clinical services and the third sector, helping healthcare professionals understand the support available from organisations like theirs, and feel confident signposting people to it.

In May 2025, Bipolar Scotland collaborated with partners to deliver a bipolar conference for healthcare professionals. The event grew from a relationship with the Metabolic Psychiatry Hub at the University of Edinburgh and led to a collaboration with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland. For Bipolar Scotland, it was the first time working with the Royal College in this way.

As a small national charity, Bipolar Scotland says it can be difficult to reach clinicians working across the NHS and raise awareness of its services. The conference provided an opportunity to speak directly with healthcare professionals and demonstrate how third sector support can complement clinical care.

Bipolar Scotland staff and volunteers were involved in presentations and panel discussions throughout the day. A distinctive feature of the conference was the way lived experience was embedded alongside clinical expertise. Discussions explored issues such as delays in receiving a diagnosis of bipolar from both clinical and lived experience perspectives, creating opportunities for shared learning between professionals and people with direct experience of the condition.

The organisation says this approach was also valuable for staff and volunteers, who felt their experiences and expertise were recognised and that they were partners in the event rather than being invited solely to provide a lived experience contribution.

One of the most encouraging outcomes of the conference was the increase in awareness of Bipolar Scotland among attendees. Before the event, 41% said they were aware of Bipolar Scotland but did not know about its services. A further 18% had heard of the organisation but knew little about it, while 18% had not heard of it before. After the conference, 95% of attendees said they were very likely to tell someone about Bipolar Scotland or signpost or refer people to its services in future, with the remaining 5% saying they were likely to do so.

For Bipolar Scotland, these results highlight the value of creating opportunities for the NHS and third sector organisations to learn from one another. They hope that greater awareness of support available outside the NHS will help more people living with bipolar access peer support and self-management resources when they need them.

The work has also reinforced the importance of relationships with researchers and academics. Bipolar Scotland says these partnerships have helped connect members with opportunities to participate in research, while also supporting the development of resources, events, funding applications and wider community engagement work. The organisation believes it also brings an important contribution to these relationships through the lived experience and insight of people affected by bipolar.

Looking ahead, Bipolar Scotland would like to build on this model of joint learning. In particular, it is interested in exploring similar opportunities with GPs and others working in primary care, recognising the important role primary care plays both before and after a bipolar diagnosis.

Visit the Bipolar Scotland website for more information.