An important new forum for strengthening self-determination in mental-health recovery has been launched on the Changing Minds website – a brand new blog called The C Word.
The latest blog post on ‘The C Word’ was released on Friday the 15th of March, and this time the blogger tackles the word ‘Consumer’ and ideas of self-identification:
“Working in what is considered a “consumer” role, most people would assume that I identify as a “consumer”. But I don’t. Put simply, I just can’t identify with that term, and to be honest I feel the same way when it comes to alternatives such as “service-user”.
I choose instead to identify as a person.
I’ve had experiences in my life that have lead me to work in the mental health and addictions sector. These experiences probably enable me to work in this sector more effectively, because I bring personal knowledge as well as professional knowledge to my work. I don’t feel that I should need to share those life experiences to prove my validity as a humanitarian and as an asset to the community sector. I’m a person – a person with a strong sense of social justice and who believes that all human beings should be free from harm and treated with fairness and respect. ”
