A Reflexive Narrative of Co‐Design Within a Regional Mental Health Service in Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT There has been a growing emphasis on co‐design practices that enable health service improvement. By centering lived experience and elevating the voices of those directly affected by potential service changes, co‐design ensures that meaningful impact is achieved at every stage of the process. This article outlines a reflexive narrative of the co‐design processes that involved mental healthcare practitioners and service users, utilised within a regional mental healthcare service from the perspective of the primary author of this paper. Key insights involved discussion around Tindall et al.'s framework of opportunities, challenges and lessons learned of the co‐design process documented throughout the first author's doctoral research. This article furthers ongoing critical reflection and quality improvement of co‐design processes within regional adult acute mental healthcare services.