Consumer participation in a youth mental health service

Aim: Consumer participation is increasingly being understood in both a policy and a practice context as an essential component of mental health service planning, delivery and evaluation. Existing models of participation benefit from adaptation to suit the early intervention context. Methods: This paper describes a unique programme of 'youth' consumer participation occurring at Orygen Youth Health (OYH) - an early intervention service in Melbourne, Australia. Flexibility and support are key components of the model. As well as supporting increased consumer-centredness of service delivery, the model aims to support the recovery of those involved in participation activities. Results: The programme described is comprehensive, multimodal, continues to evolve and is successful based on anecdotal feedback. However, there are no evaluation data to support its attainment of outcomes. Conclusion: Consumer participation is an essential part of mental health service development, delivery and evaluation and must be incorporated into early intervention services. As programmes of participation evolve, comprehensive models of evaluation must be developed to acknowledge their outcomes.