As the momentum for personalisation and recovery approaches grows, service users are increasingly participating as partners in all aspects of health and social care delivery, policy-making and professional training. This book provides an overview of service user involvement in mental health, its origins and current practice and policy.Written cooperatively by service users and academics, this book conveys a vital connection between recovery and involvement, offering a framework of values and helpful strategies to promote meaningful user participation. By sharing their personal narratives and contributing their views, service user authors demonstrate how taking control of their own care facilitates a swifter and more satisfying recovery. The book further acknowledges the bilateral value of user involvement in the development of mental health services, student learning, collaborative research and challenging social stigma, providing examples and critical appraisal of how this is currently being implemented.With a strong, positive emphasis on the benefits to all stakeholders, Service User Involvement and Recovery in Mental Health offers guidelines for good practice that will be relevant to health and social care practitioners, service users, students, researchers and educators.

Introduction. Jenny Weinstein, London South Bank University. 1. Introduction to Mental Health Service User Involvement. Dr Philip Kemp, London South Bank University. 2. The Ethos of Involvement as the Route to Recovery. Julie Gosling, Advocacy in Action. 3. Building a Compelling Future. Humphrey Greaves, mental health service user and consultant. 4 Circle of One: Experiences and Observations of a BME Service User and Consultant. Humphrey Greaves. 5. Becoming an Expert by Experience. Aloyse Raptopoulos, mental health service user and consultant 6. The Road to Recovery. Aloyse Raptopoulos. 7. User Involvement in their Own Treatment and Care. Jenny Weinstein with service user colleagues. 8. User Involvement in Challenging Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health. Jenny Weinstein with users from the Jewish Care Education Project. 9. User Involvement in Planning and Developing Services. Jenny Weinstein with Southwark MIND Council members. 10. User Involvement in Research. Professor Tony Leiba, North East London Mental Health Trust and London South Bank University. 11. The Creative Involvement of Service Users in the Classroom. Dr Philip Kemp. 12. Meeting the Challenge of Working with Young Care Leavers in Delivering Social Work Training. Tom Wilks, London South Bank University, and Liz Green, Goldsmiths College, University of London. 13. Conclusion: The Way forward for Service User Involvement and Recovery. Jenny Weinstein. The Contributors. Subject Index. Author Index