Our Story
First created through Yale University’s LETsLead program as an online community for mad and neurodivergent individuals, Lived Collective has since evolved into a therapy practice run by people with lived experience of mental health challenges. Our approach prioritizes relationships, identity, and community in mental health care.
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The way we do things is grounded in the first-hand perspectives of those who live with mental health challenges. We recognize the cultural biases and systemic traumas associated with mainstream mental health care, and we work to actively challenge these frameworks in our approach to therapy.
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Your experience matters to us both within therapy and outside of it, and we appreciate hearing if you think there is a way we can develop our approach to the care we provide. This space was created for all of us, and we are committed to upholding that value by maintaining an open channel of communication with our community.
We hope to create an authentic and collaborative space for those who identify as mad or neurodivergent. Our approach is anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and prioritizes intersectional realities.
We differentiate ourselves by working with practitioners who have lived experience in mental health and addiction challenges, providing a unique perspective and understanding of clients' needs.
We aim to provide support to the community while acknowledging and actively working against the systemic barriers and on-going trauma related to the mental health system.
About the Founder
Camille Alizadeh, M.Psy.
Lived Collective was created by Camille Alizadeh (she/her) as a community project part of the Yale LET(s)Lead 21/22 cohort hosted by CAMH. She believes in the value of lived experience, both professionally and personally, and hopes to build a powerful mad community through this project.
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We acknowledge the land we operate on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.
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We are an anti-colonialist and anti-racist community.
We are feminist, 2SLGBTQIA+ allied, and sex-positive.
We are consumer/survivors.
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We are all mad here.
©2024 by Lived Collective