Mental Health Family Carer Coresearchers: Coproduction Principles to Elevate Lived-Expertise in Research

Purpose: Few studies demonstrate approaches to working with mental health family carers in research, service change or system reform. This article formulates participatory principles for co-research with mental health family carers. Method: Twenty-three members of a Project Steering Group, with different levels of experience in research and advocacy, were invited to participate in one of two focused-conversations, to reflect upon a 9-month national coproduced research study. Participants assisted with analysing the transcriptions, understanding findings and coauthored this article. Results: Principles that promoted partnership were: family carer leadership and inclusion from the beginning, power sharing within the research partnerships, researching with people and not on or about them, valuing the process of coproduction in research through time and resource allocation, and recognizing and valuing lived-expertise and coresearchers within research processes. Discussion: Adopting these principles will elevate mental health family carer expertise when codesigning and coproducing research, service change or system reform.