‘Shaping New Mental Health Standards: A Lived Experience Perspective’ contains a suite of findings and recommendations on developing mental health standards. These were developed through VOX Scotland and The Alliance’s engagement with 177 people with lived experience and 9 organisations.
This work was undertaken to support the development of Mental Health Standards by the Scottish Government Mental Health and Wellbeing Standards Working Group. Further, it will support National Standards for Psychological Therapies by the Scottish Government Psychological Services and Therapies Policy team. We wanted to ensure the voice of lived experience was at the heart of developing these standards.
People with lived experience of accessing services highlighted a number of key principles that they felt should underpin service development and delivery. Proposed principles for Adult Secondary Mental Health Services and Psychological Therapies included:
Person centred and collaborative care
Holistic approach that recognises a range of strategies
Individuals have control and self management of their mental health care
Human rights based and trauma informed practice
Equal and non-discriminatory access to services
The report explores a range of key themes which emerged from engagement sessions, with recommendations developed around access, attitudes, accountability, information and support, consistency of care and treatment, and communications.