Consumer-Run Mental Health

Consumer-run organizations and other types of mental health self-help are becoming increasingly popular in the public mental health system. These initiatives now outnumber traditional mental health organizations in the US (Goldstrom et al., 2006). This growth is due in large part to their low cost, devoted supporters, burgeoning evidence base, and increased acceptance by mental health professionals. International interest in these initiatives is also growing as self-help is flourishing in industrialized countries worldwide. I recently edited a special issue on mental health self-help for the American Journal of Community Psychology and we received submissions from five continents, with exciting work coming out of China, Australia, and Europe. The proposed book develops a rich theoretical model called the Role Framework, which explains how people engage in and benefit from mental health consumer-run organizations (CROs).

Presents new multi-faceted model Focuses on how people benefit from CROs Contains illustrative stories throughout Offers both research reviews and theory development Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Auteur
Louis D. Brown, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at The University of Texas, School of Public Health in El Paso. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on the subject. Further, he edited a special issue for the American Journal of Community Psychology and a book for Springer on the larger field of mental health self-help. His research in this area has received numerous awards and he chairs the largest group of self-help researchers internationally.

Texte du rabat

Consumer-Run Mental Health
Framework for Recovery

Louis D. Brown

Conceived of as an empowering alternative to inpatient treatment and traditional community programs, mental health consumer-run organizations--CROs--offer consumers a hands-on stake in their own recovery. A growing evidence base suggests that CROs are a particularly effective form of self-help, with randomized trials demonstrating CRO participants experience improvements in personal empowerment, social integration, and well-being. Consumer-Run Mental Health explains their methods and analyzes their efficacy.

A robust theoretical framework synthesizes diverse perspectives to illuminate behavioral processes that contribute to recovery and the dynamics of CROs in creating environments that promote recovery. Data from the author's studies of CRO participation highlight consumer perceptions of the benefits of their involvement. An in-depth ethnographic study examines participant's lives inside and outside the organization. And in a set of remarkable narratives, consumers describe dealing with both mental illness and the tasks of running a non-profit organization, for a fuller understanding of the impact of CRO participation on their lives.

By emphasizing consumer roles within the organization, the book breaks down the mental health CRO experience into these vital topics:

· Person-environment interaction within CROs.
· Developing empowering and socially supportive roles
· Resource exchange, skill development, and identity transformation
· Life history narratives: the lived experience of CRO participation.
· How organizations influence role development.
· The impact of role development onrecovery.
· Implications for practice.

Opening up about rarely-addressed concepts of self-help, Consumer-Run Mental Health is a unique reference for researchers who study peer-run organizations as well as practitioners in community mental health settings who are involved in collaborating with or supporting CROs.

Contenu
Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 - Using existing theory to build a conceptual framework of consumer-run organizations.- Chapter 3 - Refining the preliminary framework to create the role framework.- Chapter 4 - Constructing journalistic life history narratives to explore the role of framework.- Chapter 5 Life history narratives from the P.S. Club.- Chapter 6 - Using narratives to understand how people benefit from CROs.- Chapter 7 How Organizations Influence Role Development.- Chapter 8 Role development and recovery.- Chapter 9 - Conclusion.