Service users demand, and are given, a greater degree of agency in their own care. They become more empowered and have more access to information. Service users have higher expectations of mental healthcare and there is an increase in health-seeking behaviour. There is less reliance on inpatient care and more emphasis on lived experience and treatment in the community with the support of the psychiatry workforce. Alongside input from the psychiatry workforce, there is a higher degree of involvement from family members and carers to provide support.

Service users are empowered and have more control over the choice of their treatments, the location of their care and who treats them (person-centred care).

Proposed workforce impact

• The role of psychiatrists and the location of care are altered
• The workforce delivers facilitative care with an emphasis on rehabilitation
• Training and development needs of psychiatrists are identified to manage issues surrounding shared decision- making with service users and person-centred care in psychiatry
• More specific ‘service offers’ are required

Sources or references

• Gehart, (2012), The Mental Health Recovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Service, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38,3, 429-442
• SCIE (2009), Personalisation briefing: Implications for community mental health services
• The Health Foundation, (2013), Implementing shared decision making

Additional research questions

• Can developments in IT have an implication in service-user-led care?
• What are the training and development needs of the psychiatrist workforce with regards to person-centred care?
• What is the role of a psychiatrist in personalised patient care?

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.