The 2015 International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership brought together 45 participants, from seven countries, to share best practices, discuss challenges, and lay the groundwork for a learning community related to self-direction in mental health. Now, the journal Psychiatric Services has published online (ahead of print), “Open Forum: The Emergence of Mental Health Self-Direction – An International Learning Exchange,” which summarizes studies to date as well as providing key considerations for self-direction — including the culture and systems change required to move toward a more holistic understanding of wellness and recovery, and the training and support needed to ensure that people with lived experience are in leadership roles.
