The lived experience : Consumers and carers
Being diagnosed with a mental illness can be a frightening and confusing experience for the person with the illness. Family, friends, relatives and work/school colleagues may also be shocked and confused.
A widespread change to the structure and delivery of mental health services over the last decade has seen a considerable change in the role of the service user or consumer. Consumers are no longer considered to be passive recipients of care and treatment; instead they are encouraged to be actively involved in all aspects of their care. This trend is reflected in government policies through the National Mental Health Strategy.
Carers are usually family members who provide support to children or adults who have a mental illness. Carers can be parents, partners, brothers, sisters, friends or children of any age. Some carers are eligible for government benefits, while others are employed or have a private income.
What does consumer and carer mean ?
Learning Journal. What do you understand about the role of carers and consumers in mental health?
The change in the role of the consumer occurred in conjunction with the implementation of the first Mental Health Strategy (1997). At the time it was recognised that people who are diagnosed with a mental illness are not treated with the same level of concern as people who require treatment, care and support for physical conditions. People with a physical illness are encouraged to participate in their own care and make decisions that may affect their overall health outcomes. However up until recently providers of clinical services in the mental health area often assumed responsibility for and controlled the care and treatment of clients with little opportunity for the clients to influence the process.
Over the last decade there has been a shift in the perception of the role consumer groups play in the planning, development and delivery of programs at all service levels. The recognition of the significant role and consequent needs of carers has also developed over the last decade.
As this is a reasonably new concept not all stakeholders agree that the relationship between consumers, carers and service providers is at it’s optimum as yet. As you will be able to see a lot of energy is currently being expended to improve this situation. The amount of information available on the Internet may help expatiate this process by provided education and resources.
As a mental health professional you may witness some behaviours that are associated with particular illnesses but you cannot really appreciate the full impact of the mental illness for the person with the sufferer or their loved ones. The only way to get a good idea of the ‘lived experience’ of mental illness is to engage with the literature surrounding this issue and by talking to consumers and carers.
Reading
Meadows G. and Singh B. (2001) Mental Health in Australia. Collaborative Community practice. Oxford University Press. Sydney. Pp. 220 -223.
These pages discuss the role of consumers, carers and mental health professionals.
Find out more by exploring these web sites
Doctor’s Schizophrenic life gives hope to mentally ill.
This newspaper report talks about a man who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia some 40 years previously.
This reading is a short article written by John McGrath. He describes this son’s illness and the impact it had on his family’s lives.
This information sheet aims to outline some of the issues affecting a carer, and discusses how they can better help their loved one. It also gives suggestions on where to go for further help and assistance
This is an excellent paper written by a consumer of Australian mental health services. The paper is insightful and provides an open discussion on the realities of the lack of services, funding and difficulties encountered by consumers of mental health services.
This paper discusses the role of consumers and carers in today’s mental health sector.
Web sites outlining recourses for the general public, carers and consumers. These sites provide an abundance of information and resources.
Discussion Board
Pick two of the listed websites and write a brief critique of both. Do this from the perspectives of consumers, carers and yourselves as beginning mental health professionals. Look for things such as:
- Ease of assess
- The quality of information contained on each site
- Available links
- Services provided etc.
Post your thoughts to the discussion board.
Learning Journal. Review your last entry in your learning journal on the role of consumers and carers. Have you changed your opinion?