TY - JOUR
T1 - Rhetoric of representation
T2 - The disempowerment and empowerment of consumer leaders
AU - Scholz, Brett
AU - Stewart, Stephanie J.
AU - Bocking, Julia
AU - Happell, Brenda
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - Policy mandates consumer involvement in decisions at all levels of the mental health system. One barrier to this involvement is the expectation that consumers involved in systemic work represent broader consumer experiences. To examine how the rhetoric of ? €? representation' was used in relation to consumer involvement in mental health, a qualitative exploratory design was employed using interviews for data collection. Participants were consumers (n = 6) working with public or private mental health organizations in Australia, and colleagues (n = 3) or managers (n = 5) of these consumers. Discursive psychological principles informed the analytic process, to explore contexts in which ? €? representativeness' was used to empower and disempower consumers. The findings suggest there is a lack of clarity about what is meant by representation in the mental health sector. Expecting individual consumer leaders to be representative of consumer views more broadly disempowered them in their roles. Some participants instead discussed ways that organizations should be responsible for seeking representation from more consumer leaders, thus empowering consumers working in the sector. Using the term ? €? representative' to refer to consumers working in mental health does not reflect the value of the consumer perspective and is not well understood within the sector. Comprehensive training should be provided so that mental health service providers are clear regarding the expectations of people in these roles.
AB - Policy mandates consumer involvement in decisions at all levels of the mental health system. One barrier to this involvement is the expectation that consumers involved in systemic work represent broader consumer experiences. To examine how the rhetoric of ? €? representation' was used in relation to consumer involvement in mental health, a qualitative exploratory design was employed using interviews for data collection. Participants were consumers (n = 6) working with public or private mental health organizations in Australia, and colleagues (n = 3) or managers (n = 5) of these consumers. Discursive psychological principles informed the analytic process, to explore contexts in which ? €? representativeness' was used to empower and disempower consumers. The findings suggest there is a lack of clarity about what is meant by representation in the mental health sector. Expecting individual consumer leaders to be representative of consumer views more broadly disempowered them in their roles. Some participants instead discussed ways that organizations should be responsible for seeking representation from more consumer leaders, thus empowering consumers working in the sector. Using the term ? €? representative' to refer to consumers working in mental health does not reflect the value of the consumer perspective and is not well understood within the sector. Comprehensive training should be provided so that mental health service providers are clear regarding the expectations of people in these roles.
KW - consumer involvement
KW - consumer leadership
KW - consumer representation
KW - mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053036880&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/heapro/dax070
DO - 10.1093/heapro/dax070
M3 - Article
C2 - 29036568
AN - SCOPUS:85053036880
SN - 0957-4824
VL - 34
SP - 166
EP - 174
JO - Health Promotion International
JF - Health Promotion International
IS - 1
ER -