We are Scotland’s national collective advocacy organisation for mental health.

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Meet The Board

Voices of Experience was established as an organisation in December 2006

Our Board of Directors are predominantly Vox Scotland members with lived experience of mental illness. These are our elected directors and they actively govern Vox Scotland.

Elected directors stay on the board for six years, after which they must stand down for at least a year before standing for election again. We’re regularly looking for members to join the Board and any Vox Scotland member can stand by nominating themselves at our Annual General Meeting.
We also have a limited number of nonelected directors who are specialists in mental health. They provide advice and information when needed.
Meet Gordon
I’m Chair of VOX – I lead the Board’s discussions as we deal with how the organisation is run. We make sure we look after the finances, meet all of our legal requirements and set the strategic direction. This is based on discussions with our members, of course.

I’ve been involved with VOX for more than ten years. I have a diagnosis of bipolar and work mainly in mental health policy. Everything I do comes from a lived experience perspective, which is why VOX is so important to me. Working together we can have a strong voice for change!

Meet Stephen
Meet Natalie
Meet Martin
I was brought up materially wealthy but in emotional poverty. I went to a posh Boarding School that traumatised me. Then my brother took his own life, leaving me with survivors guilt. Just as I was getting over that, I was diagnosed with dementia.

The diagnosis wasn’t traumatic however it is a rare form and plays havoc with my senses and emotions. I was down the rabbit hole a couple of years ago until I found VOX Scotland, who saw the trauma but not the dementia which is what I needed. I want more people with dementia to know it is ok to talk about trauma.

Meet Gordon
I have worked for Mental Health Network Greater Glasgow for over 13 years. In this role I engaged with people currently recieving treatment and support for their mental health challenges as well as having a lived experience as a mental health carer myself.
I’m a great believer in personal autonomy and strength based approaches as well as the value of creative expression in one’s life.
Meet Fiona
Fiona’s work in mental health started in 2005/6 with a presentation from Recovery Scotland in Oban shortly followed by a directorship with Acumen. In 2013, after moving down to Glasgow to look after her mum, she attended a CADDesign class at Anniesland college. This was followed by immersion in an “art in the gart” project to choose an artist to make a piece to celebrate the bicentennial of Gartnavel Royal Hospital’s mental heath care. She also joined a pan Scotland group of lived experience run by the Mental Welfare commission.
Meet Richard
As Director of Policy at the Scottish Association for Mental Health (1997 to 2005) I was involved in the establishment of Vox Scotland, and have been involved in Vox Scotland as a Board Member for many years. It is great to have seen the organisation grow and become a powerful voice for mental health service users over the years.

I am currently working as a Skills Coach, providing support for professionals working in Policy across the UK, and I am a board member of the Centre for Scottish Public Policy.

Meet Ruth
Ruth has always been ‘involved’ in the community around her, with a heart to support others, encourage and walk alongside people, learning and growing through the interactions and stories of people. She brings personal experiences of mental illness and experience of being a family carer for someone with mental health difficulties. She has experience of Community and Hospital based interventions and therapy. She has a BA in Psychology. She is a mental health advocate and has been part of several charitable organisations. Ruth is currently the Senior Programme Leader at Deafblind Scotland, she has worked with Deafblind people for around 20 years, in many different capacities.
Meet Abdul

Abdul is a bilingual speaker in English and Arabic. He is partially sighted with lived experienced of mental illness. Abdul is currently studying a BSC Honours degree psychology with counselling through the Open University. Previously studied BSC Computer science through Robert Gordon University. His hobbies and interests include playing and watching football, going to the gym, playing on the PS5, going to the cinema and socialising with friends and family. He also enjoys listening to music and audiobooks.

Meet Chris
Chris spent his working life building skills in observation and communication. He has worked as a safety tutor with a cohort of Ghanains, as the manager and leader of Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish employees in various engineering, logistics, and defence factories. Chris has a humanist attitude when dealing with people. He also has living experience of mental illness. Following early retirement he started a new career as a Director of Moray Wellbeing Hub and then as a member of the delivery team, facilitating outreach events and training to deliver WRAP courses, Scottish Mental Health First Aid, and a CBT course called Living Life to the Full, as well as suicide awareness courses delivered to the RAF and members of Moray Health and Social Care Partnership.
Meet Karen
Karen is diagnosed with a mental health issue and she also had a parent with the same. She has experience of working with people with mental health issues within her work environment (social work, army and counselling). She brings experience from other charitable boards and has trained and set up committees for older people and young people.

VOX Scotland is a national membership organisation, open to all people in Scotland with lived experience of mental health difficulties. We represent the views of our 500+ individual, group, and associate members to politicians and health professionals – making sure that Scotland’s laws and mental health services reflect their needs and interests.

Company Info

Company Limited by Guarantee
No 361753
Registered Charity in Scotland
No SC040646

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Contact Us

VOX Scotland
Floor 2, 
Moncreiff House,
69 West Nile Street,
Glasgow
G1 2QB

0141 226 9856

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We focus on the issues that matter to our members and undertake research and provide training to make sure our members views are heard. We are open and transparent and share our work with a national audience.

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