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Working with Mental Health Service Users to Change Mental Health Services
Author(s) -
WILLIAMS JENNIE,
LINDLEY PETER
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of community and applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.042
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1099-1298
pISSN - 1052-9284
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1298(199602)6:1<1::aid-casp359>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - mental health , consumerism , purchasing , service (business) , perspective (graphical) , public relations , psychology , business , marketing , psychiatry , political science , computer science , law , artificial intelligence
Abstract During the last ten years in the UK, service user consultation and collaboration has gradually entered the vocabulary of people providing and purchasing mental health services. However, we are not convinced that much needed change in mental health services will be achieved as a function of increased commitment to market consumerism. We argue here that service user consultation and collaboration should take account of the effects of social inequalities on mental health and on mental health services. This perspective highlights the need for fundamental change in mental health services, and helps us to appreciate the strength of resistance to change, and to understand some of the dynamics involved. We describe here how this perspective has motivated and shaped our own efforts to collaborate responsibly with service users to change mental health services.