• Your story will be shared with staff working in our Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol teams. This might be by reading your story at our team meetings, or by sharing the story in written form in staff emails.
• If you feel comfortable, we may also share your story, or parts of your story, with the wider community by including it in information materials, newsletters or social media post
• You can tell us how you would like us to use your story in the Consent Form.
• This is not a complaints process. If you have a complaint about our services, please talk to one of our staff and they will help you to submit your complaint.

Your shared story will never identify you. We will only use your first name (or a name that you prefer) and will not include any information about where you live or the location of the service you have accessed.

You can write about your experience of Mental Health and/or Drug & Alcohol services using the prompts in the story form below.

You don’t have to answer every part of this form, and do not have to say more than you are happy to.

Please be as honest as you can, because this will really help us to learn from your experience.

If you would like help with writing your story, you can contact Tiffany on mlhd-mhda-experiences@health.nsw.gov.au who will arrange a time to talk to you.

Sometimes, thinking about difficult past experiences can be upsetting. Before writing your story, please think about whether this activity is helpful for you at this time.

You may like to have a friend, loved one or other support person help you with writing your story.

If your story is difficult to write, or might bring up some emotions for you, we suggest you plan some self-care activities for after you write your story. This might be:

• Doing something you enjoy
• Exercising
• Being in nature
• Talking to a friend or loved one

If you feel upset, you should stop writing your story and access your support networks or practice self-care.

If you feel distressed or need urgent support please call Accessline on 1800 800 944 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.