Handbook of Service User Involvement in Mental Health Research

In recent years, the need for patient and public involvement in medical research has been accepted around the world. Patient groups are gaining power and demanding their right to influence the direction of research, while funding bodies are increasingly regarding patient involvement as a requirement for grant applications. However, current knowledge on how to involve service users in mental health research is sparse and dispersed. This book provides clear guidance on best practice in this area, with practical advice based on experience in countries around the world.

Handbook of Service User Involvement in Mental Health Research describes the background and principles underlying the concept of service user involvement in mental health research; it provides relevant practical advice on how to engage with service users and how to build and maintain research collaboration on a professional level. The book highlights common practical problems in service user involvement, suggesting ways to avoid pitfalls and common difficulties.

• Combines the theoretical aspects of service user involvement in research with specific examples, as well as with general practical guidelines
• Represents the views of service users, in a powerful combination with the views of other mental health professionals
• Considers the different perspectives and needs of the stakeholders concerned
• Includes a step by step guide on best practice in successful service user involvement.

Handbook of Service User Involvement in Mental Health Research is written for psychiatrists and other medical professionals managing people with psychiatric disorders, as well as for researchers in the mental health field who want to develop projects with service user involvement. It is vital reading for funding bodies requesting service user involvement, and – importantly – is written for those service users who are interested in becoming involved in research.

Jan Wallcraft is manager of the Service User Research Group for England (SURGE). She has been a leading member of the survivor/service user movement for many years and has contributed to a number of publications, e.g. “On Our Own Terms: a report on the mental health service user movement”; “Being There In A Crisis”, and “Social Perspectives in Mental Health”.

Beate Schrank has also worked for SURGE and has published on the concept of recovery in schizophrenia and on the use of the internet by people with schizophrenia.

Michaela Amering is internationally acknowledged in the field of public mental health and mental health policy. She has published on psychoeducation, informal carers (relatives), psychiatric advance directives and gender issues in mental health care, and has recently published a book on the ‘recovery perspective’ and its relevance in the care for people with psychosis. She has worked on user involvement issues in different countries and mental health care settings. She is secretary of the World Psychiatric Association Committee on Mental Health Policy. The English translation of her book on Recovery in Mental Health will also be published in March 2009.

All three editors have an impressive track record in the field of user involvement in mental health care.