What it means to be a Care-Experienced Consultant

Lucinda Fernandes Marvilha shares her perspective on her time as part of Blue Cabin’s team of Care-Experienced Consultants.

Posted: November 19 2025
Category: Blog

Blue Cabin’s team of Care-Experienced Consultants have been in post for just over six months now, helping to improve, challenge, shape and strengthen Blue Cabin’s work across all areas of the charity.

Lucinda Fernandes Marvilha shares her perspective on her time as part of the team.

How would you describe the role of a Care-Experienced Consultant with Blue Cabin?

It’s a very varied role and we consult across different areas of the charity. I share my views from the perspective of a care-experienced person and support Blue Cabin to make decisions.

What attracted you to the role?

I liked that Blue Cabin is trauma-aware and that creativity is at the heart of what they do. My degree was in Spanish and dance and I wanted to be able to use my creative skills while also focusing on care experience.

Then, when I had my interview, I just knew that the Blue Cabin team were the sort of people I wanted to work with and I came away feeling really positive. Everyone was so welcoming from the get-go and that makes such a difference.

What’s your time in the role been like so far?

I’ve been in the role for over six months now and every day is a different day. At the interview I was asked what areas of work I was interested in and I said ‘everything’ and, honestly, it’s been like my perfect job.

We’re treated professionally, everyone is very positive and we all work well together.

The Care-Experienced Consultant roles were created to help improve, challenge, shape and strengthen Blue Cabin’s work, and make sure care-experienced voices are heard. Do you feel you’ve helped achieve this?

Yes, 100%.

I always feel like my voice is heard. Because I feel so comfortable in this space, I’m completely honest, even if I’m sharing an opinion that challenges something.

One example is a project where we gave our opinions on a book aimed at care-experienced young people. Within the Care-Experienced Consultants team we had different opinions and I felt like these were all taken on board and the Blue Cabin team really listened.

What difference do you think having roles like this makes for a charity like Blue Cabin?

It’s a new role and I think we’re all learning as we go, but I feel as though I’m able to give views that might not have been thought of before. I bring another way of looking at things and I feel as though people appreciate that.

Thank you Lucinda for this insight into the role of a Care-Experienced Consultant!