Myth: Consumer Input

Obviously, consumers have opinions and legitimate perspectives; it’s the term “input” that I call a myth, because it implies that someone is listening.

In my job, I bump up against numerous efforts to solicit “consumer input.” One thing I’ve noticed is that mental health professionals are really bad at it. Professionals come to these events with our own personal bias about what the “problem” is and what should be done about it. We “listen” only for corroboration and validation of our existing opinions, and we close our ears to any opinions which conflict.

A hearing I attended last week was typical. A small group of well-intentioned professionals recruited a large group of “consumers” to an “Open Forum” regarding mental health policy. After the standard introduction about how interested professionals are in knowing what consumers think, they “opened” the floor.

Consumer after consumer rose to express their frustration with how the mental health system had failed/was continuing to fail to meet their needs. And as always happens, the professionals cut them off, explaining that “we really don’t have time today to discuss all these individual issues and misunderstandings; we’re here to talk about the big picture.”

I am sympathetic with the people who run these meetings to a degree; they didn’t personally cause the problem and they sure can’t fix it. But they entirely miss the point when they refuse to listen. The big picture is that the system doesn't work...for EVERYONE.

If they would have listened, they would understand that people's needs are not being met by the mental health system. Fact is, most people with serious mental illness are served poorly or not at all. Aren't they being paid to help people get the services they need? We need to start listening! Otherwise, what's the point of Consumer Input anyway?