The involvement of a consumer council in organizational decision making in a public psychiatric hospital

This article describes a consumer group within a public psychiatric hospital that serves primarily a forensic population. Some barriers to participation included the severity of some clients' mental illness, an organizational culture that does not fully support participation, the lack of clients' awareness of problems or alternative actions, and inherent power imbalances between clients and staff. Despite these barriers, the consumer group has made improvements for facility clients. Some factors associated with this success included strong administrative support, the allocation of a highly qualified staff liaison to work with the group, and the integration of the group into the facility's formal decision-making structure. Lessons are offered for the development of similar groups within public psychiatric hospitals and community-based mental health agencies.