Too often, mental health care begins with the system’s needs rather than the patient’s—leaving individuals feeling disempowered, unheard, and uncertain about their own treatment. In this presentation, Lindsay Dow, Certified Peer Specialist and Program Director at Silver Hill New York, shares her own journey navigating the mental health system, reflecting on what was missing: transparency, collaboration, and dignity. Drawing from her lived experience and her work leading Silver Hill New York’s innovative intensive outpatient programs, Lindsay will explore how placing patients at the center of their care transforms outcomes. Participants will explore multiple concrete methods for building more patient-centered systems of care, including: • Opening the “black box” of clinical decision-making, giving patients a clear view of their treatment planning and progress • Leveraging multiple types of data—from self-report to biometric measures—to track change in ways that are meaningful to the patient. • Integrating peer support to provide authentic, realistic hope from those who have walked the same path. Through story and practical examples, this talk will show how patient experience can guide the design of care systems that not only treat mental illness but also restore dignity, agency, and trust from the very first step of the journey.