The Promise of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health

Shared decision making is congruent with the foundational tenets of the consumer-survivor movement and with the values that inform recovery-based practice in our field. It is first and foremost an ethical imperative. Implementing shared decision making in routine mental health care could also enhance quality of care, informed decisions, consumer satisfaction, self-management, alliance, and meaningful outcomes. Realizing these potentials will be an enormous challenge that must involve users of the mental health system as central figures. We must address these barriers through research, advocacy, policy, and practice reforms. Copyright 2010 Trustees of Boston University.