Table 1 Study authors’ positionality statements

Holly Harris

I acknowledge the intersectional privilege/oppression that I experience on account of my identity. I am a white, middle-class, cisgender female with master’s-level education. I identify as someone who is neurodivergent and a consumer/survivor of the psychiatric system. I am employed by a tertiary mental health care facility as a research coordinator and have been involved in RCs as a peer support specialist, peer facilitator and research coordinator for 5 years. I leverage my lived experiences as a source of strength, resilience and expertise to highlight the voices of those who have been historically silenced. I acknowledge that my lived, academic and professional experiences influence the value I place on specific ideas and my interpretation of data

Rowen Shier

I am a white, cisgender female with a master’s degree in social sciences focusing on the intersection of policy and power relations. Although I am now positioned as middle class, I was raised in a lower income family. Additionally, I identify as someone with lived experience and have firsthand knowledge related to the inaccessibility of traditional mental health services. I am new to RC research and to work in the field of mental health and wellness more broadly. I acknowledge that my lens for engaging with this study has been shaped by my intersectional privileges and oppression and by the lived and learned experiences of my colleagues with whom I navigated this research

Georgia Black

I am a white, cisgender female who immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 2019. I have an undergraduate degree in psychology, and I have worked with populations that experience elevated rates of health inequity (including prison settings and homelessness services). I am currently employed as a research analyst in the education department of a large mental health hospital. My professional background is underpinned by my lived experience of accessing and navigating mental health services. I am not directly involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of RCs, but I am involved with research in this area. My approach to this research project is shaped by my lived and professional experience, including when co-creating meaning during interviews with participants and when interpreting the data

Anna Di Giandomenico

This project is my first experience with conducting research related to RCs. I have conducted patient-partnered research with Diabetes Action Canada and am an author on an academic publication related to that work. I have been a student in RCs for 5 years and have been a member of an RC course and programming committee for the last 3 years. I have a bachelor of arts in psychology as well as my early childhood educator certification. Leveraging my education and lived experiences as an RC student in this project has been a positive experience for me

Elizabeth Lin

I am a non-white, middle-class female with a doctoral degree and have dealt with barriers for non-whites in more than one country. I have been employed by a tertiary mental health care facility as a research scientist for over 30 years and have an extensive track record in traditional health services research using quantitative and large survey methods. I am new to RC research with this being the first project regarding RCs that I have been involved in. My interactions with individuals who have been involved in RCs has largely been with this team in writing manuscripts arising from this project and occasional administrative meetings where RC students, administrators, or facilitators have also attended. My role in this project included contributing specific expertise on conducting scoping reviews and editing manuscripts for scholarly journals. My perceptions are very much influenced by my upbringing and the cultural and social context that I grew up in and had to navigate to gain my education and my current occupation

Gail Bellissimo

I identify as a white middle-class, cisgender female. I acknowledge my social location and associated privileges, as well as experiences of stigma. I have spent 8 years engaging in research in the areas of chronic health, mental health, patient-oriented research and service user education. I have also been involved in the co-design of an RC for a large mental health care hospital. I seek opportunities to create inclusive and safe spaces by removing barriers to allow for capacity building, mentorship, education and peer support for the voices that are denied access due to discrimination and biases

Jordana Rovet

I recognize that my understanding of this subject is influenced by multiple intersecting aspects of my identity. I am a white settler, middle-class, cisgender female with a master’s degree in social work. I have spent the last 10 years working in the area of mental health and substance use, supporting projects led by people with lived experience. I am currently employed by a large mental health care hospital as a coordinator, where I am directly involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of an RC. My positionality informs the lens I bring to the data and the ways in which I interpret the experiences of others

Sam Gruszecki

I identify as a white cis-gendered middle-aged male. I work as a coordinator for an RC and am an employee of the organization that employs many of the people involved with this paper. This is part of my work. I also had collegial and community-based experience with most involved prior to the work starting. Some of my lived experience includes navigating anti-Semitism, neurodivergence, multiple diagnoses and experiences with poverty, as well as being the child of an immigrant, navigating services and a lack of post-secondary education. I have been involved in RC work, funded through major hospitals, as a peer support specialist, lead peer and coordinator since 2014. My experiences in research are relatively limited and I continue to learn along the way

Sophie Soklaridis

I am the daughter of Greek parents who immigrated to Canada. I grew up in Lourdes, Newfoundland, and Scarborough, Ontario. I hold assumptions and perspectives that are shaped by how I see/experience the world and how the world sees/experiences me. I currently work in an academic medical institution and recognize that it is a privileged site of knowledge production that has historically marginalized paradigms outside of the traditional biomedical model. I strongly believe in the importance of collaborating with lived-experience experts in research. My intent is to use my positional power to amplify their voices as experts with invaluable knowledge to contribute to the research process