Mental health consumer
A term for those receiving mental health services, emphasizing choice and reciprocity.
A mental health consumer is a person who receives treatment or support for a mental disorder, a term coined by those who use mental health services to empower themselves. It implies a reciprocal contract between service providers and users, emphasizing individual choice in treatment. The term highlights that without consumers, mental health providers could not exist.
Quick Facts
- Key publication
- On Our Own: Patient Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System
Facts from the source article.
History
In the 1970s, the term "patient" was most commonly used. Mental health activists during the civil rights era recognized that labels are metaphors shaping how identities are perceived and constructed, particularly influencing the relationship between giver and receiver of psychiatric services. Users of psychiatric services rejected efforts by experts to define them and sought self-definition. In Australia, informal support groups of people recovered from mental ill health formed during the first wave of deinstitutionalization in the 1960s. In the USA and other countries, radical movements driven by consumers in the 1980s pressed for changes in service delivery and legislation. Activists like Judi Chamberlain advocated for alternatives to psychiatrist-dominated systems; her book "On Our Own: Patient Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System" guided others toward collaborative healing. With funding from NIMH, small experimental groups flourished in the 1980s. At the 1985 First Alternatives Conference, attendees agreed on the term "consumer," reflecting patients' choice of services and implying rationality and ability to make choices. In the 1990s, groups like Self Help Clearing House and the National Empowerment Center pressed for peer involvement in alternatives, noting that peers offer support and comfort unlike some therapists who focus on changing behavior and thinking.
Contemporary usage
The term "mental health consumer" now commonly refers to anyone who has previously received mental health services, holds a behavioral health diagnosis, or has experienced a mental or behavioral disorder. For empowerment, individuals in this community may also identify as "peers," "people with mental health disabilities," "psychiatric survivors," "users," those with "lived experience," or "ex-patients." In the UK, "service users" is typical, while in the US, "consumer" is most often used by ex-patients and those who use psychiatric or alternative services. Viewed neutrally, a consumer is simply someone receiving psychological services from a professional like a psychologist or social worker, implying they expect some say in service delivery and offer feedback. In a more activist sense, consumer groups work to address perceived issues in mental health services and push for consultation with consumers. Consumer theory explores the sociological meaning and consequences of this provider-user relationship.
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