laycentered

Laycentered is a descriptor used across fields to denote approaches, programs, or structures that prioritize the input, leadership, and expertise of laypeople—non-professionals or community members—alongside, or sometimes ahead of, professionals. The term emphasizes participatory, bottom-up involvement and seeks to integrate lived experience with formal expertise. It is not tied to a single discipline and can appear in health care, education, social services, religion, and community development.

In health care and social services, laycentered approaches involve patients, families, and community members in goal setting, decision making, education, and program design. In education and community organizing, laycentered methods recruit volunteers and peers to deliver services and facilitate input from people with lived experience. In religious communities, laycentered leadership expands governance and worship beyond clergy.

Advocates argue that laycentered models improve relevance, trust, and sustainability by reflecting local needs and values. They can enhance empowerment and social cohesion. Challenges include the need for training and support for lay participants, potential conflicts between professional standards and lay perspectives, and risks of tokenism or uneven participation.

Laycentered overlaps with participatory design, community-based participatory research, patient-centered care, and lay leadership. Its adoption is often context-dependent and accompanied by policies that ensure safety, quality, and ethical engagement. The term remains variably defined across fields, with different organizations articulating their own criteria for what constitutes laycentered practice.