Shoulder to Shoulder by With-you
Welcome to Shoulder to Shoulder
Shoulder to Shoulder is a podcast about the power of peer support and lived experience, and what happens when people who've been through tough times use that experience to help others.
But what is peer support? It's simple: people who've faced their own challenges offer understanding, connection, and hope to others going through similar challenges. That's the meaning of peer support, and it's at the heart of everything we do.
In a world that can make us feel alone when we're struggling, this podcast is a reminder that connection changes everything.
I'm Cate Munro, and each episode I talk with people who've faced real challenges - mental health struggles, addiction, trauma, grief, life-changing moments - and who now stand shoulder to shoulder with others on their own journeys.
My guests include peer support workers, people running peer support groups, and individuals whose lived experience has become their greatest strength.
They share their stories honestly: what happened, what helped, and how peer support made a difference.
Whether you're a peer support worker, thinking about becoming one, part of a peer support group, or simply believe in the power of human connection and shared experience, there's something here for you.
Before you listen: This podcast explores personal stories of growth, mental health and resilience. Some episodes include descriptions of trauma and distress. Please trust your instincts and look after yourself - it's always okay to pause or come back another time.
Thank you for being here.
Find out more about With-you Consultancy at www.with-you.co.uk
Shoulder to Shoulder by With-you
EP 31: Professor Fiona Lobban on lived experience, peer support, and rethinking mental health research
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Fiona Lobban has spent her life at the intersection of mental health, research, and lived experience. Growing up in the North East, she applied to Oxford “almost on a whim” — and walked straight into a culture shock that left her struggling, isolated, and without support. Her own mental health collapsed during her degree, and she later spent a year working in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Liverpool, witnessing the realities of distress up close.
Fiona eventually returned to Oxford, completed her PhD, and trained as a clinical psychologist — but she carried her lived experience in silence, convinced it would count against her. In this conversation, she talks about the cost of that silence, and how it ultimately shaped her work: clinically, academically, and as a researcher committed to co-designing support with the people who use it.
We explore her work on peer support, from analysing online forums through the iPOF study to co-creating the Library of Lived Experience — a striking project that captures people’s stories in ways traditional research often can’t. Fiona reflects on the conditions that make peer spaces safe and transformative, the misconceptions that still exist, and why services underestimate just how powerful peer-to-peer connection can be.
You’ll also hear her take on what really needs to change in services, how families and peers are too often left out, and what it takes to get policymakers to genuinely listen. And for students or young people who might be where she once was — isolated and unsure where to turn — Fiona offers grounded, compassionate advice.
It’s a conversation about voice, courage, and building systems that finally recognise lived experience as expertise.
You’ll hear about:
Navigating student mental health in an era with little support
Why lived experience was something Fiona hid — and later embraced
What co-designed psychosocial support looks like in practice
The power and limits of peer support
Creating the Library of Lived Experience
Misconceptions, risks, and designing safe online peer spaces
What needs to shift in policy, practice, and representation
Why the next generation gives her hope
Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Show notes & resources:
With-you consultancy: www.with-you.co.uk
Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
With-you consultancy: www.with-you.co.uk