How Consumers Step Up to Design a Truly Recovery-based Mental Health System

Recently there have been spirited discussions among consumers about what we want to propose as a basic change in the mental health system. Several of us have proposed that legislation be passed to ensure that every state and every community have reliable funding for consumer-run support and advocacy groups similar to the independent living centers for people with other disabilities. I liked the idea, but then I started to worry that those centers would be marginalized or co-opted as long as the mental health system remains narrowly medical. I have concluded, and have preliminary support from other leaders, that as consumers, we need to redesign the whole system and society from the bottom up, based on our lived experiences with mental health issues. I believe that only by having a vision of a truly recovery-transformed system and society, will we ever see lasting and genuine change.

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