Michelle (she / her)
Midlands Young Advisor (2019)
Hiya! I’m Michelle and I’ve been part of the YA team since 2019, so since I was 16. I’m now 22 and have graduated from the University of Nottingham with a first-class degree in American and Canadian Studies with three additional awards to boot! This was a groundbreaking achievement considering my past debilitating mental health issues, primarily with various anxieties and neurodivergence.
The Young Advisors have provided me with opportunities to flourish and develop as a person whilst enacting meaningful and systemic change within mental health services. My goal as a YA is to ensure that every young person experiencing mental health complications is entitled to patient-centred care that humanises and empathises with them in their time of need; putting the “care” back into “mental health care”. I’ve participated in much of our sensational work, including presenting at our conference, our NHSE forums, teaching days, and clinical acting exams. I also enjoy innovation, so much of my work within the team comprises creative endeavours too.
“Our mental health is inextricable from who we are. You can amputate a limb, but poor mental health cannot be treated as simplistically.”
Outside of my YA commitments, I’m an avid artist. I take much of my inspiration from video games which, to me, are a second home to escape to. I do cherish this world dearly too; nature is so awe-inspiring for me.
