WORKING WITH MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICE USERS TO CHANGE MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES

During the last ten years in the UK, service user consultation and col laboration has gradually entered the vocabulary of people providing an d purchasing mental health services. However, we are not convinced tha t much needed change in mental health services will be achieved as a f unction of increased commitment to market consumerism. We argue here t hat service user consultation and collaboration should take account of the effects of social inequalities on mental health and on mental hea lth services. This perspective highlights the need for fundamental cha nge in mental health services, and helps us to appreciate the strength of resistance to change, and to understand some of the dynamics invol ved. We describe here how this perspective has motivated and shaped ou r own efforts to collaborate responsibly with service users to change mental health services.